O  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  <f^ 


Presented  by  Mr.  Samuel  Agnew  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


BV  110  .W54  1860  c.2 
Wilson,  John  G. 
The  sabbath  and  its  lord, 
and  the  divine  man 


V" 


'iEC,  APRi88l  |j 

VOL.    I. 


DISCOURSES  ON  PROPHECY. 

(SECOND  EDITION,  INCLUDING  THE  VINDICATION.) 


This  is  a  compendious  exhibition,  on  a  scheme  en- 
tirely new,  of  the  Divine  purpose  in  the  redemption 
of  man  by  Jesus  Christ,  as  revealed  in  the  more 
sure  word  of  prophecy,  which  is  as  a  light  that 
shineth  in  a  dark  place,  showing  that  the  dominion 
of  the  world  will  be  given  to  the  saints  of  God,  and 
that  all  the  rest  of  mankind  will  be  subject  to  their 
government ;  that  in  their  condition  of  glory  and 
blessedness  the  saints  will  have  an  everlasting  re- 
ward ;  and  in  their  condition  of  dishonor  and  shame 
the  ungodly  will  have  an  everlasting  punishment. 
But  that  all  sinful  intelligences  will  eventually  be 
subdued  and  reconciled  to  God,  become  obedient 
subjects  of  the  Kingdom,  and,  saved  from  torment 
and  pain,  be  made  as  happy  as  their  condition  will 
allow. 

In  all  departments  of  science  new  discoveries  are 
considered  practicable,  and  are  commonly  hailed 
with  delight.  Why  should  not  new  discoveries  in 
Biblical  truth  be  deemed  equally  so,  and  welcomed 
accordingly?  The  Bible,  as  a  record  of  God's 
thoughts  and  purposes  in  relation  to  the  moral  gov- 


IV 


ernment  of  his  creatures,  while  shedding  the  dews 
of  salvation  abundantly  upon  thousands  of  believing 
hearts  and  inquiring  minds,  may  have  been,  like  the 
great  book  of  nature,  but  partially  understood.  And 
the  scribe,  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
like  the  diligent  student  of  nature,  is  to  bring  out  of 
this  treasury  things  both  new  and  old.  We  trust 
that  it  will  not  be  deemed  presumptuous  in  us  to  aim, 
in  humble  dependence  on  God,  to  fulfil  this  duty. 
So  far  as  our  knowledge  extends,  no  one  else  has 
ever  taken  the  view  of  the  Divine  government  and 
proceedings,  in  whole,  which  is  presented  in  this 
volume.  Our  view,  it  is  true,  presents  much  that 
is  common  to  all  evangelical  expositions  of  the 
Scheme  of  Redemption.  And  where  we  think  we 
have  discovered  new  light,  and  have  presented  new 
views,  we  have  endeavored  to  give  the  reason  for 
the  hope  that  is  in  us  with  meekness  and  fear. 

If  any  one  should  ask,  as  some  have  done,  why 
these  things  were  not  discovered  previously  by  the 
learned  and  wise  and  good  who  have  diligently 
studied  the  Bible  to  find  the  truth  ?  We  answer,  by 
inquiring  why  the  circulation  of  the  blood  was  not 
discovered  before  Harvey  ?  and  gravitation  before 
Newton?  and  electricity  before  Franklin  ?  The 
Bible  is  as  rich  in  truth  as  nature  is  in  fact.  In  the 
glorious  sky  of  Revelation,  as  well  as  in  the  natural 
heavens,  there  may  be  stars  whose  light  has  not  yet 
reached  us,  and  which  may  be  designed  to  bless  the 
world  in  its  future  track ;  the  discovery  of  which 
may  be  made  by  some  diligent  student  hereafter. 
When  we  consider  the  dispensations  of  God  as  al- 


ready  historically  developed  or  prophetically  inti- 
mated in  his  word  in  their  connection  with  and 
relation  to  the  great  scheme  of  redemption,  we  ex- 
claim with  Paul,  ''  0  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of 
the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God !  how  unsearch- 
able are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding 
out," — and  with  the  Psalmist,  "Thou  has  magni- 
fied thy  word  above  all  thy  name." 

We  have  not  the  vanity  or  presumption  to  sup- 
pose that  we  are  above  the  liability  to  err ;  but  we 
have  searched  diligently  after  the  truth,  and  have 
not  written  a  line  without  conviction  of  its  accord- 
ance with  the  testimony  of  the  Divine  word.  If  we 
have  erred  we  shall  be  truly  grateful  to  any  one 
who  will  point  out  our  errors,  and  show  unto  us  a 
more  excellent  way.  We  ask  a  candid  perusal  of 
this  volume,  a  thorouo;h  in vesti station  of  the  views 
of  the  Scheme  of  Redemption  presented  in  it,  and 
an  unprejudiced  judgment  respecting  them. 

We  shall  be  pleased  to  hear  from  any  who  may 
be  interested  in  our  views,  and  to  answer  inquiries 
respecting  them.  Having  derived  unspeakable  com- 
fort from  them  to  our  own  mind,  we  are  desirous  of 
communicating  the  same  to  others,  and  therefore 
invite  inquiry  and  criticism. 

May  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  God  of  all  grace  and  consolation,  grant 
us  the  unction  from  above  which  shall  guide  us  into 
all  Truth. 


(See  Advertisement  and  Notices  at  the  close  of  this  volume.) 


VI 


VINDICATION. 


This  contains  replies  to  some  notices  of  the 
Discourses  on  Prophecy  in  which  mj  theory  of 
Redemption  was  mis-stated,  answers  to  letters,  &c. 
This  has  been  published  separately  from  the  Dis- 
courses to  accommodate  those  who  have  the  first 
edition,  and  will  be  sent  to  any  one  on  the  receipt 
of  twenty-five  cents  in  money,  or  postage  stamps. 


VOL.    II. 


THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD. 


The  interest  just  now  awakened  in  this  communi- 
ty on  the  Sabbath  Question,  has  hastened  the  publi- 
cation of  this  volume,  vrhich  is  designed  to  supply 
a  need  which  the  author,  with  thousands  of  sincere 
and  honest  minds,  long  felt,  and  which  he  feels 
confident  he  has  now  reached  throuo;h  a  careful  and 


Vll 

patient  study  of  the  Word  of  God.  The  reader 
ivill,  I  trust,  find  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  fol- 
lowing questions. 

Is  the  Sabbarth  a  Divine  Institution? 

Is  there  a  moral  necessity  for  it  ? 

Is  it  of  universal  obligation  ? 

What  was  its  special  relation  in  the  national 
Covenant  made  with  Israel? 

Has  the  first  day  of  the  week  been  divinely  insti- 
tuted in  place  of  the  seventh  day,  as  the  Christian 

Sabbath  ? — And  for  what  reasons  ? 

How  ought  it  to  be  observed  ? — And  what  works 
may  be  regarded  as  allowable  profanations  of  it  ? 

We  invite  not  only  all  Christians  who  observe  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  but  also  all  those  who  hold  to 
the  seventh  day — all  Jews,  Infidels,  and  nothinga- 
rians, to  a  candid  consideration  of  the  subject  here 
presented,  hoping  thereby  to  conduce  something 
towards  giving  a  more  healthy  tone  to  public  senti- 
ment on  this  subject,  and  promoting  a  more  enlight- 
ened and  conscientious  observance  of  the  Lord's 
day. 


To  any  one  who  will  remit  us  the  price  of  the  book,  (75  cents,) 
it  will  be  sent  by  mail  or  otherwise  free  of  expense. 


VI 11 


MSCOURSES  01  THE  APOCALYPSE, 


We  hope  soon  to  make  arrangements  for  the  pub- 
lication of  these  Discourses  which  are  of  an  exposi- 
tory character,  in  which  ever j  paragraph  is  separate- 
ly and  explicitly  considered,  while  the  most  complete 
and  systematic  arrangement  of  the  whole  is  preserved. 
The  arrangement  and  classification  of  the  Visions 
presented  in  this  volume  w^ill  be  found  entirely  new, 
and  we  think  so  natural  and  harmonious,  so  conso- 
nant with  the  analogy  of  faith,  and  exhibiting  the 
dispensations  of  God  in  such  agreement  with  the 
benevolence  and  rectitude  of  his  character,  as  to  be 
commended  to  the  enlightened  judgment  of  all  who 
are  in  quest  of  truth.  And  what  has  hitherto  been 
regarded  by  the  generality  of  Christendom  as  a 
sealed  book,  will,  we  are  confident,  be  made  plain 
to  the  understanding  of  the  intelligent  reader,  who 
will  at  least,  whether  he  receive  or  reject  our  views, 
have  the  satisfaction  of  comprehending  our  mean- 
ing, and  being  furnished  with  a  key  to  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  symbols  by  which  the  agents,  acts, 
and  events  predicted  in  this  book  are  represented. 

We  commit  all  to  the  overruling  providence  of 
God,  and  patiently  wait  for  some  clear  indication 
of  His  will,  to  whom  we  have  consecrated  our  Writ- 
ings for  the  glory  of  His  name — the  exaltation  of 
His  word,  and  the  salvation  of  mankind. 


THE 


SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD, 


THE   DIVINE   MAN. 


By    JOHN    G.  ViLSON, 

MINISTER    OF    THE    WORD    OF    GOO, 


I    WORK    FOR    GOD    AND    G  0  0  D.  — Tup  per. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED    BY    THE    AUTHOR 

AND    FOR    SALE    BY 

WILLIAM  S.  &  ALFRED  MARTIEN,  606  CHESTNUT  ST. 

PERKINPIXE  &  HIGGIXS,  56  N.  FOURTH  ST. 

1860. 


"  IN  PKOPORTION  AS  THE  SABBATH  IS  IMPKOVED,  WILL  EACH  DAY 
RESEMBLE  A  SABBATH,  IN  BEING  EMPLOYED  FOR  GOD,  AND  SPENT  IN 
THE  FRAME  OF  SPIRIT  WHICH  MOST  RESEMBLES  THAT  OF  THE  BLESSED 
BEINGS  WHO  KEEP  A  PERPETUAL  SABBATH  AROUND  THE  THRONE." 

M.  L.  D, 

"IT  IS  MANIFESTLY  PROPER,  THAT  BEINGS  WHO  ARE  DEPENDENT 
UPON  GOD  FOR  ALL  THINGS,  AND  ESPECIALLY  FOR  THEIR  HOPES  OF 
IMMORTALITY,  SHOULD  DEVOTE  A  PORTION  OF  THEIR  TIME  TO  THE 
EXPRESSION  OF  THEIR  GRATITUDE,  AND  SUBMISSION,  AND  REVERENCE. 

"  COMMUNITY  OF  DEPENDENCE  AND  OF  HOPE  DICTATES  THE  PRC 
PRIETY   OF    UNITED  WORSHIP ;   AND   WORSHIP,  TO  BE  UNITED,  MUST 

BE  PERFORMED  AT  TIMES  PREVIOUSLY  FIXED." 

Dtmond. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 

JOHN     G.    WILSON, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  iu  and  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


CONTENTS 


Dedication, ...,.., 7 

The  Sabbath, 8 

Preface,  9 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Sabbath,  Creation's  Holyday, 15 

Meaning  and  application  of  tlie  word, 15 

The  cosmogony  of  Moses, 16 

The  Divine  rest, 17 

Man  not  an  idler  in  Eden, 18 

The  Sabbath  not  merely  to  recruit  his  wasted  strength,  19 

But  to  meet  the  wants  of  his  spiritual  nature, 20 

And  meets  a  social  necessity, 22 

The  Sabbath  a  blessing, 23 

The  first  Sabbath  in  Eden, 24 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Sabbath,  Redemption's  Working  Day, 26 

Necessary  to  man  before  the  fall  and  more  so  since, 26 

I.    The  Sabbath  before  the  Law, 27 

(3; 


4  CONTENTS. 

Known  and  observed  from  tlie  beginning, 27 

The  end  of  days,  Gen.  iv.  3,  4, 28 

Weekly  division  of  time, 29 

Testimonies  of  Manassab,  Ben  Israel,  and  Pbilo, 30 

Observations  on  Ex.  xvi.     Gift  of  manna, 30 

II.   The  Sabbath  under  the  Law, 35 

Incorporated  in  tbe  Decalogue, 35 

Of  perpetual  obligation, 37 

Promise  to  Abraham — tbe  natural  seed, 38 

Tbe  Sabbatb  a  sign  of  tbeir  national  covenant, 39 

Sabbatb-breaking  a  capital  offense, 40 

National  blessings  promised, 43 

Its  aspect  to  tbem  individually, 47 

Its  sanctification, 50 

III.  The  Sabbath  under  the  Gospel, 54 

Result  of  tbe  trial  of  tbe  natural  seed, 55 

No  flesb  justified  by  tbe  law  of  the  national  covenant,  55 

Justification  by  faith, 56 

Object  of  the  gospel  dispensation, 57 

Observance  of  the  Sabbath  not  enjoined  in  the  New 

Testament, 58 

Legal  aspect  of  the  Sabbath  associated  with  the  seventh 

day  rendered  a  change  necessary, 62 

The  designation  of  the  first  day  of  the  week, 63 

The  first  Christians  being  Jews,  kept  two  sabbaths......  67 

Gentile  Christians  kept  but  one,  and  that  the  first  day 

of  the  week,,,, „..,, 67 

Paul  would  not  allow  the  observance  of  the  seventh 

day  to  be  imposed  on  the  Gentiles, 68 

Inculcated  liberty  of  conscience, 70 

The  first  day  of  the  week  the  Christian  Sabbath, 72 


CONTENTS.  5 
CHAPTER  III. 

The  Sabbath,  the  Millennium's  Symbol  Day, 75 

Its  symbolic  character, 76 

Adam  and  Christ — representative  men, 77 

Work  of  Christ, 77 

Adam's  knowledge  of  the   symbolic  character  of  the 

Sabbath, 79 

The  Six  Days  of  Creation  all  symbol  days, 79 

Tradition  of  the  House  of  Elias, 82 

Paul's  argument  in  Hebrews  iv, 83 

Testimony  of  Christian  fathers, 86 

The  Rest  remaining  to  the  people  of  God, 90 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  LoKD  of  the  Sabbath, 93 

The  question.  Whom  do  men  say  that  I  am  ? 93 

Humanitarianism, , 94 

Semi-Humanitarianism, 95 

Christ  the  Son  of  God, 96 

His  pre-existence, 98 

Personal  representative  of  God, 100 

By  whom  all  things  were  created,  etc., 101 

His  Incarnation, 102 

His  unchangeableness, - 105 

His  universal  Lordship, 107 

Lord  of  the  Sabbath  through  all  dispensations, 108 

Lord  of  the  coming  Millennial  Sabbath,, 113 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Observance  of  the  Sabbath, 116 

1* 


6  CONTENTS. 

Man  not  made  for  the  Sabbath, 116 

The  Sabbath  made  for  man, 117 

Made  for  man's  use, , 118 

Teachings  of  Christ:  Works  of  necessity, 119 

Works  of  religious  service, 120 

Works  of  mercy, 121 

Caution  against  abuses, 125 

Physicians,  Apothecaries,  etc., 126 

Business  on  the  Sabbath  day, 127 

Preparation  for  keeping  the  Sabbath,  etc., 131 

The  Millennial  Sabbath, 133 

THE  DIVINE  MAN. 

Dialogue  between  Reason  and  Revelation,  etc., 141 

Index  thereto, 179 


tHotiffii. 


THIS     VOLUME 
IS     RESPECTFULLY     INSCRIBED 

TO 

JOHN    CLARK,   ESQ., 

AS  AN  ACKNOWLEDGMENT,  BY  THE 

AUTHOR, 

OP    HIS    ESTEEMED    FRIENDSHIP, 

GENEROUS     SYMPATHY, 

AND 

TRUE     KINDNESS. 

(7; 


THE    SABBATH. 

Creation's  liolyday, 

Day  of  Jeliovali's  rest, 
Wlien  ceasing  from  his  finished  work, 

His  lips  pronounced  it  blest. 
Then  sang  the  morning  stars, 

Shouted  the  sons  of  God, 
And  man  a  holy  Sabbath  spent 

In  Eden's  pure  abode. 

Redemption's  working  day, 

To  man  in  mercy  given, 
To  lay  aside  his  earthly  toil 

For  intercourse  with  Heaven  : 
That  shaking  off  the  weight 

Of  worldly  thought  and  care, 
He  may  renew  his  spirit's  strength 

In  holy  praise  and  prayer. 

Millennium's  symbol  day. 

Type  of  a  rest  to  come. 
When  saints,  redeemed  from  sin  and  death, 

Shall  dwell  with  Christ  at  home ; 
When  earth  no  more  shall  groan 

Beneath  the  curse  of  pain ; 
But  Paradise  shall  be  restored, 

And  peace  forever  reign. 


(8) 


PREFACE 


I  OFFER  no  apology  for  giving  to  the  commnnity  a 
new  book  on  the  sabbath.  At  a  time  when  there  are 
found  so  many  professing  Christianity  who  coincide 
with  the  ungodly  in  urging  forward  public  measures 
for  the  general  desecration  of  that  day,  it  is  a  duty 
one  owes  to  God  and  humanity,  to  do  all  he  can  to 
preserve  from  abuse  an  institution  which  is  the  very 
palladium  of  heaven's  richest  blessings  of  providence 
and  grace.  The  best  way  of  promoting  the  observ- 
ance of  any  institution,  if  it  be  really  good,  is  to  dis- 
seminate correct  views  concerning  it,  presenting  it  in 
its  true  light,  showing  its  Divine  appointment,  moral 
nature,  absolute  necessity,  perpetual  obligation,  and 
indispensable  utility.  Common-place  as  the  subject 
may  appear  to  many,  it  is  intrinsically  one  of  great 
interest,  and  by  no  means  exhausted  of  its  attractive- 
ness and  force  by  those  who  have  heretofore  written 
upon  it.  Beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth,  through 
which  men  have  driven  the  plough,  and  from  which 
they  have  reaped  stores  of  grain,  have  laid  undis- 

(9)       - 


10  PEEFACE. 

covered  ricli  mines  of  precious  metal,  to  reward  in 
tlie  end  some  diligent  laborer,  who  digging  deeper 
than  was  wont,  shall  strike  with  his  spade  the  hidden 
vein,  and  reveal  its  wealth.  The  Sabbatical  institution 
has  its  fertile  soil  and  its  rich  mines.  With  earnest 
desire  to  find,  and  diligent  application  in  seeking,  I 
have  dug  in  this  field,  and  now  present  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  reader,  and,  if  found  worthy,  for  his 
adoption,  the  thoughts  which  in  this  connection  have 
been  awakened  in  my  mind.  If  they  are  the  pure  gold 
of  truth,  they  will  stand  the  test  of  enlightened  Bibli- 
cal criticism,  to  which  they  are  cheerfuly  submitted. 
If  there  be  in  them  any  of  the  base  alloy  of  error,  no 
one  will  rejoice  more  in  its  detection  and  exposure 
than  I,  and  no  one  will  be  more  ready  to  remove  the 
scum,  that  the  truth  may  appear  in  all  its  Divine  and 
heavenly  purity. 

I  am  not  aware  that  any  who  have  written  upon 
the  sabbath  have  taken  the  view  of  it  here  presented. 
There  will  be  found  in  this  treatise,  not  only  old 
thoughts  in  new  forms,  and  some  which  have  perhaps 
been  better  expressed  by  others;  but,  also,  new  thoughts 
now  first  developed  from  the  germs  of  Divine 
truth.  The  manner  in  which  the  subject  is  treated  is 
also,  I  believe,  entirely  new.  Yet  I  have  not  sought 
after  novelties  from  any  particular  penchant  for  them, 
but  I  have  sought  after  truth ;  and  with  humble  de- 


PREFACE.  11 

pendence  on  God,  and  earnest  prayer  for  tlie  teachings 
of  his  Spirit,  I  have  daily  searched  the  Scriptures  that 
I  might  know  the  things  which  are  freely  given  to  ns 
of  God,  joyfully  accepting  the  confirmation,  by  the 
testimony  of  the  "Word,  of  those  truths  which  are  old ; 
and  thankfully  receiving,  from  the  same  testimony, 
the  knowledge  of  the  truths  which  are  new.  And  as 
every  scribe  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  likened  unto  a  householder  who  brings  forth  out  of 
his  treasury  things  new  and  old;  so,  following  the 
order  in  which  they  were  developed  to  my  under- 
standing, I  have,  with  as  much  plainness  of  speech 
and  perspicuity  of  style  as  I  am  master  of,  endeavored 
to  set  forth  the  truths,  whether  new  or  old,  respecting 
the  sabbath,  and  its  Lord,  which  I  have  found  in  the 
treasury  of  inspiration. 

The  sabbath  is  a  Divine  institution,  and  belongs 
legitimately  to  a  Divine  religion ;  for  although  false 
religions  or  corruptions  of  the  true,  may  have  in  some 
instances  retained  the  day,  they  lost  the  thing.  The 
weekly  division  of  time,  and  the  observance  of  the 
seventh  day  as  a  religious  festival  were  retained  espe- 
cially by  the  Eastern  nations  after  the  confusion  of 
tongues  and  their  consequent  dispersion  from  the 
scene  of  their  folly;  but  it  was  to  them  no  longer  a 
real  sabbath.  Its  design,  use,  and  import,  were  per- 
verted ;  and,  being  abused  to  idolatrous  purposes,  it 


12  PREFACE. 

was  more  desecrated  in  its  observance,  than  it  would 
have  been  by  its  neglect.  In  idolatrous  communities 
the  sabbath  soon  lost  its  sacred ness,  and,  if  observed 
at  all;  became  a  season  of  the  grossest  licentiousness 
and  brutality;  the  restraints  of  passion  were  thrown 
off,  and  men  and  women  abandoned  themselves  to 
every  species  of  vice.  The  holidays  of  the  heathen 
were  the  most  unholy  of  all  days,  being  characterized 
by  an  abandonment  to  sensual  dissipation.  It  is  only 
among  the  people  of  God,  that,  in  any  age,  a  sabbath 
can  be  found  worthy  of  the  name ;  and  among  them 
only  as  they  adhered  to  the  true  faith.  It  is  so  now 
also.  The  more  truly  evangelical  a  people  are,  the 
more  sacredly  is  the  sabbath  observed  according  to 
the  design  of  the  institution.  The  corruptions  of 
Christianity  are  characterized  by  a  looseness  in  regard 
to  the  observance  of  the  sabbath.  And  the  more  cor- 
rupt any  Christian  community  becomes,  the  more  friv- 
olous is  the  manner  of  its  observance.  This  is  so  gen- 
eral, that  the  manner  in  which  the  sabbath  is  observed 
among  any  people,  may  be  taken  as  a  pretty  correct 
index  of  their  religion.  A  religion  without  a  sab- 
bath would  soon  fall  into  desuetude ;  and  a  sabbath 
profaned,  neglected,  and  despised,  is  an  evidence  of  a 
corrupt  and  profligate  religion,  and  the  open  door  for 
.every  species  of  vice  and  wickedness. 

Where  the  sabbath  is  observed  as  it  should  be,  the 


PREFACE.  13 

people  are  industrious,  prosperous,  virtuous,  and  happy. 
There  true  religion  holds  its  sway.  There  order, 
peace,  and  good  neighborhood  is  the  rule;  and  dis- 
order, riot,  and  crime  is  the  exception.  Wickedness 
dare  not  lift  up  its  head  in  the  face  of  a  well-kept 
sabbath.  It  is  therefore  the  true  policy  of  a  govern- 
ment to  promote,  as  far  as  possible,  the  due  observance 
of  the  sabbath.  The  law  of  the  sabbath,  and  all  other 
moral  laws,  are  obligatory  upon  the  people  in  the 
very  nature  of  things,  and  by  the  constitution  of  their 
being,  as  set  forth  in  the  commandments  of  God,  inde- 
pendent of  the  sanction  of  human  laws ;  but  it  is  the 
interest  of  eyerj  nation  to  enforce  the  observance  of 
morality,  and  to  suppress  vice  and  crime,  hence  it  is 
their  interest  to  enforce  the  observance  of  the  sabbath. 
We  should  be  horrified  if  the  Legislature  were  to 
legalize  murder,  adultery,  theft,  and  perjury.  It  would 
be  to  legislate  against  the  very  life  and  well-being  of 
the  community.  To  legislate  against  the  sabbath  is 
by  many  regarded  as  a  little  thing,  and  yet  it  is  to 
legislate  against  the  peace  and  security  of  the  com- 
monwealth. Any  enactment  which  tends  to  weaken 
the  obligations  of  the  people  to  observe  the  sabbath, 
or  provides  for  its  desecration,  weakens,  in  the  same 
proportion,  the  power  and  influence  of  the  civil  ma- 
gistrate, strengthens  the  bands  of  the  lawless  and  dis- 
obedient, and  provides  for  the  increase  of  licentious- 


14:  PREFACE. 

ness  and  every  degrading  vice.  It  is  easier  to  keep 
up  and  preserve  the  defenses  of  virtue  and  religion 
than,  after  they  have  been  broken  down  for  any  length 
of  time,  to  set  them  up  again.  The  conservators  of 
the  public  weal  would  consult  the  peace  and  happiness 
of  the  people  by  providing  for  a  more  strict  observ- 
ance of  the  sabbath,  instead  of  breaking  down  the  ex- 
isting restraints  upon  its  desecration.  It  is  certainly 
the  duty  of  all  Christians  who  believe  that  obedience 
to  the  Divine  laws  will  ensure  the  welfare  of  the 
people  and  the  tranquillity  of  the  State  to  use  all  their 
influence,  legitimately,  to  prevent  any  legal  authoriza- 
tion of  sabbath-breaking,  either  by  individuals  or  cor- 
porations.. 

To  awaken  attention  to  the  subject ;  to  furnish  infor- 
mation respecting  it ;  to  inspire  a  greater  love  for  it ; 
to  induce  a  more  enlightened  and  conscientious  ob- 
servance of  it ;  and  to  dissuade  others  from  desecrat- 
ing the  sabbath  is  the  design  of  my  book.  And  I 
humbly,  yet  confidently,  submit  the  views  herein  pre- 
sented to  all  sects  and  parties  for  their  serious  con- 
sideration and  candid  judgment,  according  to  the 
apostolic  injunction,  "  Prove  all  things ;  hold  fast  that 
which  is  good."  And  as  nothing  but  the  truth  can 
make  us  free  from  error,  and  unite  us  in  faith  and 
practice,  so  I  pray  that  God,  by  his  blessing,  may 
prosper  the  truth. 

Kensington,  Philadelphia,  1859. 


THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD. 


CHAPTEE  I. 
creation's  holyday. 

"  And  lie  said  unto  tliem,  The  sabbatli  was  made  for  man,  and 
not  man  for  the  sabbath.  Therefore  the  Son  of  Man  is  Lord 
also  of  the  sabbath."— Mark  ii.  27,  28. 

The  Sabbath  is  Creation's  Holyday,  and  viewed 
in  relation  to  its  origin,  design,  adaptations  and  effects, 
is  a  subject  of  deep  interest.  It  is  associated  with  all 
that  is  pure  and  noble  in  the  creation,  history,  and 
destiny  of  the  earth.  So  essential  is  it  to  the  well- 
being  of  mankind  that  its  due  observance  is  made  a 
moral  obligation,  sanctioned  by  the  authority  of  Je- 
hovah himself,  when  he  made  Sinai  his  legislative 
hall,  and  from  his  pavilion  of  cloud  proclaimed  the 
law — "Eemember  the  sabbath  day  to   keep  it 

HOLY." 

Sabbath  is  a  Hebrew  word  transferred  to  our  lan- 
guage, and  it  signifies  rest.  For  in  six  days  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  and  all  their  hosts. 
"And  on  the  seventh  day  God  ended  his  work  which 

(15) 


16         THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD. 

lie  had  made,  and  lie  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from 
all  his  work  which  he  had  made.  And  God  blessed 
the  seventh  day  and  sanctified  it,  because  that  in  it  he 
had  rested  from  all  his  work  which  God  created  and 
made."  Gen.  ii.  2,  8.  How  stupendous  are  the  works 
of  God !  With  wonder  and  delight  we  contemplate 
the  production  and  formation  of  this  magnificent  uni- 
verse. What  an  immense  space  is  occupied  even  by 
the  solar  system !  How  grand  its  central  orb  of  light 
and  heat,  its  planets,  asteroids,  moons,  and  comets! 
But  imagination  is  overwhelmed  and  lost  in  the  ex- 
ceeding vastness  of  the  great  unknown  beyond,  where 
every  twinkling  star,  the  central  sun  of  some  vast 
system,  shines. 

"  These  are  tliy  glorious  works,  Parent  of  good, 
Almighty  ;  thine  this  vmiversal  frame, 
Thus  wondrous  fair;  thyself  how  wondrous  then.* 

The  cosmogony  of  Moses  relates  not  to  the  produc- 
tion of  matter  and  the  primitive  construction  of  the 
iTuiverse,  but  to  a  reconstruction  of  what  is  termed 
the  heavens  and  the  earth — referring  to  this  globe  and 
its  relations,  and  the  creation  of  new  orders  of  plants, 
trees,  and  animals,  and  a  new  race  of  intelligent 
beings. 

Since  the  original  formation  of  the  universe  many 
changes  have  no  doubt  been  made  in  its  various  parts, 
as  God  in  his  wisdom  has  seen  to  be  necessary  for  new 
modifications  of  being,  or  purposes  of  moral  govern- 
ment. The  globe  on  which  we  dwell  has  evidently 
been  subject  to  changes  produced  by  fire  and  water. 


creation's  holyday.  17 

Gen.  i.  2 — "  And    the   earth  was  without   form   and 
void  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep,  and 
the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters," 
refers  to  the  state  of  the  earth  at  the  time  the  Mosaic 
narrative  commences.     Of  the  six  days'  work,  light  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  creation ;  but  in  this  passage 
Moses  describes  a  condition  of  the  earth  before  light  was 
made,  and  shows  conclusively  that  the  globe  on  which 
we  dwell  existed   previous  to  the  creative  acts  re- 
corded by  him.    This  condition  was,  in  all  probability, 
the  result   of  some   great  convulsion   of  nature  by 
which  a  previous  form  or  condition  of  it  was  changed, 
and  the  creatures  inhabiting  it  were  destroyed.     It 
may  have  been  a  general  deluge,  accompanied  with 
such  a  change  in  the  atmosphere  as  rendered  it  in- 
capable of  supporting  life  or  of  transmitting  light,  and 
so  involving  all  in  darkness  and  death.     The  geologi- 
cal record  indicates  that  the  earth  had  been  inhabited 
ages  before  the  first  human  pair  was  created,  and  that 
its  pre-Adamic  inhabitants  were  destroyed  by  some 
sudden   and  overwhelming   catastrophe.     With   this 
the   Mosaic   narrative   agrees,    showing   that   it   was 
without  form  and  void  when  the  six  days'  work  of  re- 
organization and  creation  began.    The  six  days'  work 
gave  to  the  earth  a  new  condition  or  form,  and  fur- 
nished it  with  new  trees  and  plants  and  new  inhabit- 
ants.    "  And  God  saw  every  thing  that  he  had  made 
and  behold  it  was  very  good."     And  when  all  were 
finished  he  rested  on  the  seventh  day.     ISTot  that  he 
needed  rest:  "for  the  Lord,  the  Creator  of  heaven 
and  earth,  fainteth  not,  neither  is  weary."     It  did  not 
tire  him  to  create  this  glorious  universe,  or  reconstruct 
2-^ 


18  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

any  part  thereof;  "for  lie  spake  and  it  was  done,  lie 
commanded  and  it  stood  fast."  He  found  no  difficulty 
and  felt  no  weariness.  But  it  was  because  the  work 
of  reorganization  and  construction  was  finished.  It 
was  not  necessary  to  keep  on  creating.  All  kinds  of 
grass  and  herbS;  and  trees  yielding  frait,  had  seed  in 
themselves  for  reproduction ;  and  all  living  creatures 
were  formed  with  power  to  propagate  their  species. 
And  when  the  human  pair  were  fashioned  and  stood 
in  all  the  purity  aud  glory  of  the  Divine  image,  "  God 
blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto  them.  Be  fruitful  and 
multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it." 
Hence  new  creations  were  unnecessary.  Having  made 
all  things  perfect  in  their  nature,  and  suited  to 
the  purposes  for  which  they  were  formed,  he  rested 
on  the  seventh  day  in  a  pleasurable  contempla- 
tion of  all  his  works,  which  he  pronounced  "very 
good." 

It  was,  also,  with  a  view  to  sanctify  to  man  a  day 
of  rest  from  ordinary  occupation  and  labor,  and  a 
season  for  special  devotional  service  and  religious  en- 
joyment. It  was  not  intended  that  man  should  be  an 
idler  in  creation.  It  was  a  part  of  God's  plan  that  he 
should  work.  And  therefore  the  Lord  God  planted 
a  garden  eastward  in  Eden,  and  there  he  put  the  man 
to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it.  There  was  plenty  of  plea- 
sant work  in  the  garden,  and  six  days  out  of  every 
seven  were  allotted  for  its  performance,  and  every 
seventh  day  was  set  apart  as  a  sabbath — a  day  of  rest 
— a  period  of  cessation  from  delightful  labor,  for  the 
still  more  delghtful  exercise  of  praise  in  the  worship 
of  the  great  Creator  of  all  things.  We  are  not  to  sup- 


creation's  holyday.  19 

pose  that  tlie  six  days'  employment  of  man,  in  his 
primitive  condition,  were  wearisome  and  fatiguing,  so 
as  to  render  the  sabbath  necessary,  in  order  to  recruit 
his  failing  energies  or  refresh  his  exhausted  spirits. 
It  was  no  drudgery  ''  to  prune  those  growing  plants, 
and  tend  those  flowers,"  or  "  to  reform  the  flowery  ar- 
bors" and  "  lop  the  wanton  growth"  of  branches  which 
overhung  the  "alleys  green,"  their  "walk  at  noon." 
These  labors  only  gave  a  richer  relish  to  their  food,  a 
healthier  tone  to  the  pure  blood,  and  made  their  sleep 
at  night  more  sweet.  Such  labor  was  adapted  to  their 
physical  nature,  and  only  tended  to  preserve  the  vigor 
and  elasticity  of  their  bodies.  It  was  not  to  give  rest 
to  weary  limbs  and  overtasked  muscles ;  it  was  not 
to  recruit  his  wasted  strength,  and  remedy  the  weekly 
exhaustion  of  labor,  so  as  to  render  him  capable  of 
enduring  further  toil ;  as  if  labor  were  an  end,  or  the 
products  of  labor  the  chief  good,  that  the  sabbath  was 
appointed.  The  institution  had  not  its  foundation  in 
any  such  necessity,  or  for  any  such  reason.  We 
might  argue  this  from  the  fact  that  the  first  day  of 
man's  life  was  a  sabbath.  For  man  was  made  on  the 
sixth  day  of  creation,  and  near  the  close  of  the  day. 
He  was  the  crowning-piece  of  the  Creator's  works  and 
head  of  all  on  earth.  And  the  seventh  day  of  crea- 
tion was  the  first  of  man's  existence.  The  sabbath 
began  at  the  going  down  of  the  sun  on  the  sixth  day, 
just  after  man  was  made,  and  placed  in  the  garden : 
hence  the  first  day  of  his  life  was  the  first  sabbath. 
It  did  not  succeed  a  week  of  toil,  and  was  not  there- 
fore designed  simply  to  afford  him  time  to  recruit  his 
physical  strength,  for  its  first  observance  preceded  the 


20  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOKD. 

labor  of  the  week.  The  first  sabbath  found  man  in 
all  the  freshness  and  glory  of  his  being  as  he  came 
from  the  hands  of  his  Creator,  and  not  exhausted  and 
fatigued  by  previous  labor.  It  was  not  its  great  ob- 
ject then  to  give  refreshment  to  the  body. 

Nor  was  the  sabbath  arbitrarily  and  capriciously 
appointed.  There  existed  adequate  reasons  in  the  na- 
ture of  things  for  the  consecration  of  this  portion  of 
time  to  religious  uses.  The  sabbath  was  made  for 
man.  Even  in  his  primitive  state  of  innocence  and 
purity  man  needed  a  sabbath.  He  was  created  a  reli- 
gious being — a  moral  agent,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
love  and  obey  his  Creator.  He  was  made  upright; 
but  his  moral  character  was  only  to  be  formed  and 
established  by  voluntary  obedience  to  the  Divine  law. 
He  was  therefore  placed  in  a  state  of  trial.  As  a  moral 
agent  he  could  not  otherwise  attain  to  an  improve- 
ment of  condition.  The  circumstances  in  which  he 
was  placed  left  him  free  to  act  according  to  the  voli- 
tions of  his  own  mind,  with  full  power  to  obey  the 
Divine  command,  that  by  constancy  of  obedience  he 
might  attain  to  personal  holiness  and  insure  the  glory 
set  before  him  as  the  end  of  his  trial.  Innocent  he 
was  made,  it  could  not  be  otherwise,  and  endued  with 
power  not  only  to  retain  his  innocency,  but  through 
the  use  of  appropriate  means  to  perfect  holiness  and 
secure  glory  higher  than  creation  gave  him.  In  that 
primitive  condition  he  had  duties  to  perform,  or- 
dinances to  observe,  temptations  to  endure,  and  sin 
to  avoid.  The  great  end  to  be  attained  was  the  devel- 
opment, maturity,  and  perfection  of  his  moral  nature. 
He  was  not  made  a   mere  animal,  to  eat  and  drink, 


21 

to  wake  and  sleep,  and  otherwise  indulge  in  sensual 
delights.     His  intellectual  and  moral  powers  stamped 
him  as  a  being  designed  for  higher  and  nobler  ends. 
He   was   made   in   the   image   of  God,  and   the  ob- 
ject of  trial  was,  that  he  might,  through  voluntary 
obedience,  be  confirmed  in  holiness,  and  so  glorify 
God  and  enjoy  him  forever.     It  was  in  view  of  this 
that  the  sabbath  was  instituted.     It  was  to  meet  the 
wants  of  his  intellectual  and  moral  nature.     It  was  to 
be  a  means  of  advancing  his   moral    and    religious 
improvement.     It  was  to  secure  time  for  more  parti- 
cular attention  to  divine  and  heavenly  contemplations, 
and   for   more   intimate   communion   with    God   and 
angels  than  other  days  afforded.     It  was  for  religious 
and  spiritual  exercises.     It  must,  therefore,  have  had 
its  ordinances  of  divine  worship,  in  which  were  com- 
memorated the  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  of  God 
as  manifested   in  his   glorious  works.     The  sabbath 
was  designed  to  subserve  man's  spiritual  interests.    If 
he  had  been  made  an  irrational  creature,  as  the  horse 
or  the  ox,  physical  relaxation  might  have  been  all 
that  he  would  have  needed,  and  that  might  have  been 
sufficiently  secured  by  nightly  rest  and  refreshment  in 
sleep.     ISTo  sabbath  had  then  been  needed.     But  as 
man  was  made  a  rational  being  and  moral  agent,  re- 
laxation from  labor  and  business  could  not  satisfy  the 
demands  of  his  nature.     Night   and  sleep  give   him 
rest  and  refreshment  for  the  body.     The  physical  na- 
ture is  thus  satisfied.     But  he  needs  something  more. 
The  cultivation  of  his  moral  and  religious  nature  de- 
mands a  cessation  from  toil  and  business,  for  a  part 
of  his  time,  that  he  may  attend  to  spirituaJ  and  reli- 


&S  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LOED. 

gious  things.  The  portion  of  time  thus  appropriated 
should  be  sufficient  for  the  purpose,  and  made  regu- 
larly to  occur  at  short  intervals.  Such  is  the  sabbath 
day,  for  which  the  great  Creator  saw  there  would  be  a 
necessity  in  man's  moral  constitution,  and  which  in 
his  wisdom  he  graciously  set  apart  for  this  use.  And 
we  may  be  assured  that  the  amount  of  time  thus  de- 
voted to  sacred  purposes  is  neither  more  nor  less  than 
man's  spiritual  need  reoLuired.  And  even  if  no  neces- 
sity had  existed  in  man's  nature  for  such  an  ordinance, 
it  would  have  been  proper  on  account  of  his  relation 
to  and  dependence  upon  God,  that  a  suitable  portion 
of  his  time  should  be  devoted  exclusively  to  religious 
uses,  and  for  the  expression  of  his  gratitude  to  the 
Giver  of  all  good.  God  is  worthy  of  being  honored 
by  a  consecration  to  his  worship  of  a  distinct  portion 
of  our  time,  that  it  may  be  employed  in  devout  medi- 
tation on  his  nature,  perfections,  works  and  ways. 
But  there  was  a  necessity  for  this  ordinance  in  man's 
nature ;  and  the  exercises  of  the  sabbath  day — its 
religious  services — its  divine  communings  were  de- 
signed to  reflect  in  their  action  upon  man  in  exalting 
his  mind  and  promoting  his  progress  in  holiness,  until 
he  should  be  completely  established  in  a  good  charac- 
ter, and  prepared  for  a  more  exalted  condition. 

Man  was  also  created  a  social  being,  and  in  this  re- 
lation was  required  a  community  of  worship.  It  was 
no  more  good  for  him  to  be  alone  in  religious  matters 
than  in  secular  concerns.  Congregational  worship 
has  its  foundation  in  man's  nature.  He  must  in  this 
manner  cultivate  the  social  feelings  in  religion.  The 
religion  of  an  anchoret  is  unnatural,  constrained,  and 


creation's  holyday.  23 

distorted.  For  social  worship  it  was  necessary  that 
there  should  be  a  fixed  and  stated  time  perpetually 
recurring.  Without  this  it  could  not  be  known  when 
to  assemble.  It  was  necessary  also  that  the  observance 
of  this  portion  of  time  should  be  vested  with  all  the 
weight  of  A  moral  obligation.  Hence  the  sabbath  was 
sanctified  or  set  apart,  by  the  all- wise  Creator  and 
Governor  of  the  universe,  as  a  day  of  rest  or  cessation 
from  ordinary  labor  and  secular  business  and  for  a 
religious  use.  It  was  not  that  the  day  might  be  spent 
in  idleness ;  but  that  it  should  be  appropriated  to  an 
active  emiployment  in  spiritual  exercises. 

The  sabbath  was  creation's  holyday.  The  works 
of  God  were  finished  when,  near  or  at  the  close  of  the 
sixth  day,  man  was  made  in  the  image  of  his  Creator ; 
and  the  woman,  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his 
flesh,  was  given  to  him  as  a  partner  of  his  life  and  the 
sharer  of  his  honors  and  his  joys.  Then  on  the 
seventh  day  the  Creator  rested  in  a  full  satisfaction 
with  the  works  he  had  made,  for  they  were  very  good. 
And  he  blessed  the  seventh  day.  He  ordained  it  to 
be  a  blessing  to  man.  It  was  not  for  his  own  use  that 
he  blessed  it.  Every  day  was  alike  blessed  to  him. 
It  was  set  apart  and  blessed  for  man's  sake.  The  sab- 
bath was  made  for  man.  The  condition  of  man, 
though  created  in  knowledge,  righteousness,  and  true 
holiness,  did  not  place  him  above  the  need  of  it.  It 
was  an  institution  demanded  by  the  nature  of  man ; 
yea,  his  condition  of  trial  rendered  it  highly  import- 
tant  if  not  indispensable.  It  was  sanctified  for  his 
use.  It  was  blessed  for  his  benefit.  And  his  very 
life  began  with  the  keeping  of  the  first  sabbath  as  if 


24  THE    SABBATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

to  remind  him  of  its  great  design  as  a  religious  insti- 
tution, its  importance  to  tlie  due  cultivation  of  his 
moral  nature,  and  to  endear  it  to  his  heart.  In  man's 
life  and  history  the  sabbath  was  placed  first  before 
all  other  days,  to  show  that  the  religious  element 
was  the  most  important,  and  its  culture  to  be  first 
attended  to.  s; 

We  love  to  think  that  the  first  sabbath,  if  no  more, 
was  observed  by  our  first  parents  according  to  its  ori- 
ginal design.  The  hypothesis  that  they  sinned  and 
were  expelled  from  the  garden  of  Eden  on  the  very 
day  they  were  created  is  not  required  by  any  Bible 
doctrine,  and  cannot  fairly  be  deduced  from  the  nar- 
rative. The  contrary  appears  more  consistent.  They 
may  have  spent  many  happy  days  in  innocency  before 
the  tempter  found  fit  opportunity  to  ply  his  tempta- 
tion and  beguile  the  woman  to  disobedience.  And  we 
love  to  think  that  in  the  blissful  bowers  of  Eden  they 
spent  the  first  day  of  their  lives  in  celebrating  the 
praise  of  the  glorious  Author  of  the  new-made  world. 
It  was  fit  that  the  holyday  of  creation  should  be  hal- 
lowed by  them  in  the  most  exalted  spiritual  inter- 
course, in  divine  and  heavenly  contemplations,  in  har- 
monious and  delightful  praise,  and  in  sublime  com- 
munion with  Jehovah.  We  love  to  think  that  on 
that  day  they  walked  and  talked  with  holy  angels, 
sweetening  their  intercourse  with  songs  of  lofty 
praise ;  that  they  worshiped  in  the  very  presence  of 
the  Lord  God,  and  learned  from  him  whatever  related 
to  their  duties  as  intelligent  beings ;  that  then  the  na- 
ture and  conditions  of  the  first  covenant  were  made 
known  to  them ;  that  the  representative  character  of 


creation's  ho  ltd  ay.  25 

Adam—the  interests  involved — the  rewards  of  obe- 
dience and  the  penalty  of  transgression,  were  made 
known,  that  they  might  understand  the  relations  in 
which  they  stood,  and  be  armed  with  every  suitable 
motive  to  continue  in  obedience  and  overcome  every 
temptation  to  evil. 

It  was  the  holyday  of  creation  and  the  day  of  their 
coronation,  in  which  the  sovereignty  of  earth  was 
committed  to  their  hands.  They  were  made  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels,  they  were  crowned  with  glory 
and  honor,  they  were  made  to  have  dominion  over  the 
works  of  God;  all  things  were  put  under  their  feet: 
all  sheep  and  oxen,  yea,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field ; 
the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  what- 
soever passeth  through  the  paths  of  the  sea.  All  were 
made  subject  to  their  will.  The  scene  may  have  ex- 
cited the  envy  and  malice  of  the  fallen  angels  ;  but 
the  holy  ones, 

"  The  morning  stars, 
Together  sang,  and  all  the  sons  of  God 
Shouted  for  joy  !     Loud  was  the  peal:  so  loud 
As  would  have  quite  o'erwhelmed  human  sense  ; 
But  to  the  earth  it  came  a  gentle  strain, 
Like  softest  fall  breathed  from  JEolian  lute, 
When,  'mid  the  chords,  the  evening  gale  expires, 
Day  of  the  Lord  !  Creation's  hallowed  close." 

3 


CHAPTER  11. 

redemption's  working-day. 

"  And  he  said  unto  them,  The  sabbath  was  made  for  man, 
and  not  man  for  the  sabbath.  Therefore  the  Son  of  man  i^ 
Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath."— Mark  ii.  27,  28. 

The  Sabbath  is  Redemption's  Working-Day. — 

Its  sanctification  to  man  as  a  day  of  rest  or  cessation 
from  labor  and  business,  did  not  consign  it  to  iodo- 
lence  or  inert  repose.  Had  man  not  sinned ;  had  lie 
retained  bis  original  rectitude  and  preserved  bis  first 
estate,  tbe  sabbatb  would  still  bave  been  occupied  ac- 
tively and  delightfully  in  spiritual  and  divine  exer- 
cises. This  would  bave  been  as  necessary  for  tbe 
continuance  and  improvement  of  bis  religious  and 
spiritual  life,  as  tbe  six  days'  labor  would  bave  been 
to  bis  physical  life.  N"or  is  it  any  less  necessary  since 
tbe  fall  of  man.  It  is  even  more  necessary.  Man's 
need  is  greater  in  every  respect.  As  he  needs  to  labor 
more  and  toil  harder  during  tbe  six  working  days  to 
obtain  tbe  meat  that  perishes ;  so  he  needs  to  improve 
more  assiduously  the  sabbath  day  for  the  advancement 
of  his  spiritual  life.  How  long  it  was  after  his  crea- 
tioji  ere  man  sinned,  is  a  question  which  belongs  not  to 
our  present  subject.  It  matters  not.  God,  who  foresaw 
that  man  would  sin,  and  designed  bis  redemption,  de- 
termined that  the  sabbatb  should  be  continued  to  him 
(26) 


redemption's  working-day.  27 

in  Lis  fallen  state,  associated  with  sucli  means  of  grace 
as  would  tend  to  save  him  from  sin  and  elevate  his 
moral  character,  and  eventually  warrant  an  improve- 
ment of  his  condition.  God  foresaw  that  man  would 
need  such  a  day.  If  he  needed  it  in  his  primitive 
state  of  innocence  and  happiness,  how  much  more 
would  he  need  it  in  his  fallen  state  of  sinfulness  and 
misery.  And,  foreseeing  this,  the  Lord  of  the  Sab- 
bath adapted  it  to  the  economy  of  Eedemption ;  and 
hence  under  the  regime  of  salvation  the  sabbath  was 
made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the  sabbath. 

It  has  been  a  subject  of  debate  among  theologians 
whether  the  sabbath  was  given  to  man  as  an  ordinance 
prior  to  the  exode  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt.  It 
seems  evident  to  my  mind  that  it  was  divinely  insti- 
tuted with  man  in  his  Eden  state,  and  subsequentl}' 
adapted,  as  became  necessary  by  the  fall  of  man,  to 
every  succeeding  dispensation  of  the  economy  of  grace, 
according  to  the  Divine  will.  I  shall,  therefore,  con- 
sider it  in  relation  to  its  aspect  before  the  Law,  under 
the  Law,  and  under  the  Gospel. 

1.   THE   SABBATH   BEFORE   THE    LAW. 

The  sabbath  was  made  for  man,  that  is,  for  man- 
kind ;  the  term  man  being  employed  generically  for 
the  human  race.  It  was  not  made  for  any  special  class 
or  nation  of  men.  It  is  not  likely  that  an  institution, 
having  its  foundation  in  a  necessity  of  man's  nature 
would  be  kept  secret  from  him  for  so  long  a  time  as 
they  suppose  who  maintain  that  it  was  first  instituted 
with  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness.     Adam,  in  inno- 


28  THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LOKD. 

cence,  had  his  labor  assigned  to  him.  His  business  was 
to  dress  the  garden  of  Eden  and  to  keep  it.  It  is  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that  the  sabbatical  rest  was  not 
made  known  to  him;  that  his  Eden  state  was  unblest 
by  any  sweet  sabbath  of  communion  with  God.  And 
when  by  transgression  he  involved  himself  and  his 
posterity  in  additional  toil  to  overcome  the  curse 
which  vfas  put  upon  the  ground  for  man's  sake,  it  is 
not  likely  that  he  would  forget  the  day  of  rest,  or  that 
he  would  let  his  posterity  forget  it.  And  as  the  pur- 
pose of  God  to  effect  the  redemption  of  man  from  sin 
and  death  by  the  seed  of  the  woman  was  then  re- 
vealed, the  continuance  of  the  sabbath  would  not  only 
be  a  reminiscence  of  what  was  lost,  but  also  an  ante- 
past  of  vfhat  should  be  required.  In  the  Antediluvian, 
as  well  as  in  the  Postdiluvian  times,  they  had  divinely 
appointed  religious  institutions ;  for  Abel  and  Enoch 
and  Noah  are  commended  for  their  faith.  But  faitli 
implies  a  revelation  ;  for  faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and 
hearing  by  the  word  of  God.  There  were  doubtless 
revelations  made  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  age; 
and  revelations  have  usually  been  associated  with  reli- 
gious institutions,  such  as  sacrifices  and  offerings,  and 
these  have  uniformly  been  associated  with  appointed 
times  for  their  performance.  Now  the  sabbath  has 
always  been  the  principal  time  for  the  offering  of  sacri- 
fices and  special  attention  to  religious  duties.  In  Gen. 
iv.  3,  4,  it  is  written  that,  "  in  process  of  time,"  or  as  it  is 
literally,  "  at  the  end  of  days,"  "  it  came  to  pass  that 
Cain  brought  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground  an  offering  to 
the  Lord.  And  Abel  also  brought  of  the  firstlings 
of  his  flock  and  of  the  fat  thereof."    At  the  end  of  days 


redemption's  woekixg-day.  29 

refers  to  some  well-known  division  and  termination 
of  days.  The  week  is  the  only  division  of  days  men- 
tioned by  Moses  in  his  history  of  that  early  age,  and 
there  is  no  time  so  likely  to  be  designated  as  the  end 
of  days  as  the  seventh  day  or  sabbath,  coming  as  it 
did  at  the  termination  of  the  week,  and  no  other  upon 
which,  by  common  agreement,  they  would  be  likely 
to  offer  their  sacrifices  and  perform  their  devotions. 
It  was  the  day  set  apart  for  such  services ;  and  it  is  a 
legitimate  inference  that  they  observed  the  sabbath, 
bringing  on  that  day  their  offerings  to  the  Lord  to  the 
place  which  he  had  designated  for  their  public  wor- 
ship to  be  paid. 

The  weekly  division  of  time  is  referred  to  in  Gen. 
vii.  4,  where  it  is  written  "  For  yet  seven  days  and  I  will 
cause  it  to  rain  on  the  earth."  We  suppose  that  Noah, 
to  whom  this  was  said,  was  in  the  habit  of  offering  his 
sacrifices  unto  the  Lord  at  the  appointed  place  of 
worship  on  the  sabbath  day ;  and  that  the  Lord  God 
met  with  him  there,  and,  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  re- 
vealed to  him,  that  after  the  expiration  of  another  week, 
seven  days^  the  deluge  should  begin.  So  also  in  Gen. 
viii.  10,  12,  we  find  that  Noah  having  sent  forth  a 
dove  to  ascertain  whether  the  waters  were  abated,  and 
it  having  returned  to  him  without  any  evidence  of  it, 
waited  ''yet  other  seven  days,'''  and  sent  it  forth  again, 
when  it  returned  in  the  evening  with  an  olive  leaf  in 
its  mouth.  And  again  he  waited  ''  yet  other  seven  days'^ 
and  sent  it  forth  again.  Thus  we  find  him  acting  in 
regard  to  the  regular  weekly  division  to  time.  And  as 
this  weekly  division  of  time  had  its  origin  in  the  six 
days  of  creation  and  one  of  rest,  it  is  rendered  certain 
8* 


30  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

that  the  institution,  nature,  and  design  of  tlie  sabbatli 
was  known  to  Noah,  it  having  been  observed  from  the 
creation  of  the  world,  by  the  family  of  Seth. 

Again,  there  is  reference  made  to  this  weekly  di- 
vision of  time  in  the  institution  of  the  Passover,  when 
the  Lord  brought  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt. 
''Seven  days,"  said  he,  ''thou  shalt  eat  unleaveneei 
bread,  and  in  the  seventh  day  shall  be  a  feast  to  the 
Lord."  Ex.  xiii.  6.  They  were  to  eat  unleavened  bread 
for  a  week,  and  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  was  to 
be  the  festival  of  the  sabbath,  which  is  pre-eminently 
called  the  Lord's  festival,  the  day  on  which  he  rested 
from  his  works  and  was  refreshed. 

Thus  it  appears  to  have  been  usual  for  God's  people 
in  the  ages  before  the  law  to  observe  the  weekly  divi- 
sion of  time.  And  we  may  justly  conclude  that  the 
Sabbath  was-  known  to,  and  observed  by  them  from 
the  creation  down  to  the  ex  ode  of  the  Israelites  from 
Egypt.  Manassah-ben-Israel;  a  Jewish  doctor,  says, 
that  "  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  ancients,  Abra- 
ham and  his  posterity,  having  preserved  the  memory 
of  the  creation,  observed  the  sabbath  also,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  natural  law  to  that  purpose."  Philo, 
another  Jewish  writer,^  says,  ''  that  the  sabbath  is  not 
a  festival  peculiar  to  any  one  people  or  country,  but 
is  common  to  the  whole  world ;  and  that  it  may  be 
named  the  general  or  public  festival,  and  that  of  the 
nativity  of  the  world." 

Finally,  it  appears  from  the  narrative  in  Exodus 
xvi.,  that  the  sabbath  had  been  known  and  observed 
before  the  giving  of  the  law.  The  seed  of  Abraham 
have  been  from  the  beginning  a  chosen  and  peculiar 


81 

people,  designed,  in  tlie  economy  of  redemption,  for  a 
special  purpose,  and  to  that  end  subjected  to  a  course 
of  physical,  political,  and  moral  training,  differing 
from  other  nations,  and  best  adapted  to  secure  the  ob- 
ject in  view.  Their  deliverance  from  Egyptian  bond- 
age by  a  series  of  stupendous  miracles,  by  which  the 
magicians  of  Egypt  were  confounded,  and  the  pride 
of  her  kings  and  princes  was  brought  low,  was  de- 
signed to  make  known  to  them  the  power  and  majesty 
of  the  great  I  Am,  awaken  toward  him  their  reveren- 
tial fear,  encourage  their  loving  confidence,  and  im- 
press their  minds  with  a  conviction  of  the  folly  and 
wickedness  of  idolatry.  And  they  were  led  into  the 
trials  of  the  wilderness  to  test  their  faith  in  God,  con- 
vince them  of  their  entire  dependence  upon  him,  and 
develop  a  due  sense  of  their  obligations  to  obey  him ; 
to  humble  them,  and  prove  them :  to  know  what  was 
in  their  heart,  and  whether  they  would  keep  his  com- 
mandments or  no.  Take  for  instance  the  miraculous 
supply  of  food ;  for  he  suffered  them  to  hunger,  and 
then  fed  them  with  manna,  that  he  might  make  theni 
understand  that  man  doth  not  live  by  bread  alone ; 
but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Lord  doth  man  live.  Scarcely  had  they  passed 
through  the  Eed  Sea,  and  reached  tlie  desert  border- 
ing upon  its  eastern  shore,  before  their  provision  failed 
and  they  began  to  murmur,  and  complained  that  they 
had  been  brought  from  a  land  of  plenty  into  an  inhos- 
pitable wilderness,  to  perish  by  famine.  Then  the 
Lord  shamed  their  murmurings  by  the  gift  of  manna, 
which,  in  the  night,  fell  round  about  their  camp  and 
afibrded  them  an  abundant  supply  of  nutritious  and 


32  THE    SABBATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

wholesome   food ;  as   it   is   written,  "  lie    gave  them 
bread  from   heaven  and  man  did  eat  angels'  food." 
The  manna  was  a  small  round   thing — small  as  the 
hoar  frost,  and  it  lay  on  the  ground  after  the  dew  was 
gone  up.     And  Moses  said  to  the  people,  "  This  is  the 
bread  which  the  Lord  hath  given  you  to  eat."     And 
they  gathered  as  much  of  it  as  they  needed  for  the 
day,  every  man   according  to  the  number  of  persons 
in  his  tent.     It  was  like  coriander  seed,  white ;  and 
the  taste  of  it  was  like  wafers  made  with  honey.     It 
was  their  daily  bread,  and  none  of  it  was  to  be  left 
until  the  next  day ;  for  if  kept  over  night,  it  bred 
worms  and  became  offensive  to  the  smell.     But  when 
the  sixth  day  came,  the   people   generally  gathered 
double  the  usual  quantity,  so  as  to  have  enough  for 
the  seventh  day,  w^hich  was  the  sabbath.     This  they 
did,  notwithstanding  the  manna  had  always  corrupted 
after  the  first  day  if  any  was  left  over  until  the  mor- 
row.    This  they  did  without  any  special  instructions 
from  the  Lord  concerning  it,  evidently  from  a  habit 
of  providing  on  the  sixth  day  for  the  necessities  of 
the   seventh,  that  they  might  observe  it  as  a  day  of 
rest,  and  divining  that  he  who  gave  the  manna  for 
their  food  would  also  preserve  it  from  corrupting  on 
the  seventh  day,  that  they  might  not  violate  the  sab- 
bath by  having  to  gather  it  on  that  day.     And  the 
rulers  of  the  people  who  superintended  the  business 
went  and  told  Moses,  that  they  might  ascertain  whether 
it  were  right  for  the  people  to  do  this.     And  Moses 
having  presented  the  case  before  the  Lord,  was  told  to 
answer  them  as  follows :  ''  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of 
the  holy  sabbath  unto  the  Lord :  bake  that  which  you 


83 

will  bake  to-day,  aod  seethe  tliat  whicli  you  will 
seethe  ;  and  that  which  remaineth  over  lay  up  for  you 
to  be  kept  until  the  morning."  And  they  did  so,  and 
it  corrupted  not ;  and  Moses  told  them  to  eat  that  on 
the'  sabbath,  for  they  should  not  find  any  in  the  field. 
But  some  of  the  people  having  neglected  to  gather  on 
the  sixth  day  for  the  seventh,  either  because  they  did 
not  sufficiently  regard  the  sabbath,  or  because  they 
supposed  that  the  manna  would  spoil  as  usual,  and  be 
unfit  for  food  even  if  they  did  gather  it,  went  out  on 
the  sabbath  morning  into  the  field  to  gather  it,  but 
they  found  none.  And  God  said  to  Moses,  "  Hoav 
long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my  commandments  and  my 
laws.  See,  for  that  the  Lord  hath  given  you  the  sab- 
bath, therefore  he  giveth  you,  on  the  sixth  day,  the 
bread  of  two  days :  abide  ye  every  man  in  his  place ; 
let  no  man  go  out  of  his  place  on  the  seventh  day. 
So  the  people  rested  on  the  seventh  day." 

Now  these  things  occurred  some  time  before  the 
giving  of  the  Law  from  Sinai ;  and  they  show  that 
the  seventh  day  of  the  week  had  been  known  and  ob- 
served as  a  divinely -instituted  sabbath  before  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Decalogue  and  the  special  national 
laws  were  enacted  by  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  The 
narrative  shows,  that  the  people  generally  on  this  oc- 
casion, and  under  peculiar  circumstances  tending 
rather  to  deter  them  from  it,  made  provision  for  the 
due  observance  of  the  seventh  day  as  a  time  of  cessa- 
tion from  all  labor  and  secular  business.  The  manna 
must  have  begun  to  fall  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
after  Moses  had  presented  the  necessities  of  the  people 
before  the  Lord  on  the  preceding  sabbath.     It  fell  for 


34  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LORD. 

six  conseciitive  days,  and  would  not  keep  so  as  to  be 
fit  to  eat  on  the  next  day  after  it  fell.  It  had  to  be  ga- 
thered fresh  every  morning.  And  yet  on  the  sixth  day 
the  people,  without  any  instruction  in  relation  thereto, 
proceeded  to  gather  double  quantity  on  the  sixth  day. 
They  probably  saw  that  the  supply  that  had  fallen 
was  double  as  much  as  on  any  other  day,  and  inferred 
from  this  circumstance  that  it  was  designed  to  furnish 
them  with  food  for  the  sabbath  day.  This  was  before 
the  giving  of  the  Law.  The  conduct  of  the  people 
was  approved  by  the  Lord,  as  it  evidently  was  founded 
upon  their  regard  for  his  ordinances  and  their  faith  in 
his  providence.  He  therefore  declared  that  it  was  in 
accordance  with  his  will  concerning  the  sabbath,  which 
being  commemorative  of  his  resting  from  his  works 
of  creation  was  a  holyday  unto  him.  Those  who  neg- 
lected to  make  this  provision  for  the  sabbath,  and 
went  out  to  gather  manna  on  the  seventh  day,  were 
severely  rebuked  for  their  impiety,  which  is  spoken 
of  as  one  of  a  long  series  of  similar  transgressions  of 
commandments  and  laws  already  existing  and  known 
to  them.  The  laws  and  commandments  here  referred 
to,  and  by  which  the  sabbath  was  given  to  them,  must 
have  been  such  as  had  been  from  the  beginning,  and 
which  were  known  and  handed  down  from  generation 
to  generation.  It  follows  then  that  the  sabbath  had 
been  previously  known  to  them  as  a  Divine  Institu- 
tion. It  was  an  ordinance  of  the  Lord,  which  his 
people  had  all  along  been  accustomed  to  observe.  It 
is  not  spoken  of  as  an  institution  then  first  enjoined 
upon  them,  but  as  one  that  had  always  been  in  force 
from  the  creation  of  the  world.   But  the  circumstances 


EEDEMPTIO^''s   WORKING-DAY.  35 

in  connection  witli  the  giving  of  the  manna  were  cal- 
culated to  induce  a  greater  regard  for  the  sabbath, 
since  so  wonderful  a  provision  was  made  for  its  ob- 
servance. It  was  calculated  to  impress  upon  their 
minds  the  sacredness  in  which  the  God  of  Israel  re- 
garded the  sabbath,  and  to  prepare  them  for  the  spe- 
cial enactment  concerning  its  observance  under  the 
Law, 

We  may  certainly  conclude,  then,  that  the  sabbath 
had  been  strictly  observed  in  the  times  before  the 
law;  that  Abel  and  Enoch  and  Noah,  and  all  the 
people  of  God  of  the  antediluvian  age,  observed  it 
and  kept  it  holy  unto  the  Lord.  That  subsequently 
Noah  and  Shem,  and  Abraham  and  his  seed,  pepetu- 
ated  its  remembrance  and  delighted  in  its  holy  and 
sanctifying  services. 

"  Yes  !    blessed  sabbath  morn,  thy  light 
Is  affluent  of  pnre  delight 

To  those  who  love  thy  rest ; 
Beyond  thy  sun,  a  heavenly  ray 
Adds  moral  lustre  to  the  day, 

And  shines  into  the  breast." 


2.   THE   SABBATH   UNDER  THE    LAW. 

As  the  sabbath  was  made  for  man,  so  it  became 
man's  duty  to  observe  the  sabbath.  The  reasons  for 
the  institution  exist,  as  I  have  previously  shown,  in 
man's  nature  and  relations,  and  give  it  the  force  of  a 
moral  obligation.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  man's 
good,  necessary  to  the  proper  development  of  his  re- 
Hgious  and  spiritual  nature ;  necessary  to  the  maturity 


S6  THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD. 

and  establisliment  of  his  moral  character.  It  has,  hence, 
been  placed  among  man's  moral  duties.  The  Deca- 
logue, or  ten  commandments  promulged  from  Sinai, 
was  not  then  an  act  of  new  legislation.  It  was 
merely  the  formal  utterance  of  principles  which  had 
existed  as  moral  laws  in  the  nature  and  relations  of 
mankind  from  the  beginning.  They  had  always  ex- 
isted, though  man's  depravity  and  ignorance  had  ob- 
scured his  perception  of  them,  and  had  almost 
obliterated  them  from  his  mind.  In  the  line  of  the 
patriarchs  and  their  adherents  these  principles  were 
known,  being  revived  in  their  minds  from  time  to 
time  by  Divine  interposition  and  revelation.  And 
when  the  Lord  came  down  upon  mount  Sinai,  in  the 
sight  of  all  the  people  of  Israel,  to  give  them  his  stat- 
utes and  ordinances,  and  to  separate  them  unto  him- 
self as  a  peculiar  people  above  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  he  proclaimed  the  moral  law  as  the  basis  or 
foundation  of  the  entire  civil  and  religious  code  which 
he  was  about  to  give  them  through  the  ministration 
of  his  servant  Moses.  The  proclamation  of  the  law 
was  attended  with  the  most  impressive  circumstances. 
For  three  days  the  people  sanctified  themselves ;  and 
on  the  third  day  in  the  morning  there  were  thunders 
and  lightnings,  and  a  thick  cloud  upon  the  mount, 
and  the  voice  of  the  trumpet  exceeding  loud,  so  that 
all  the  people  trembled.  And  Mount  Sinai  was  alto- 
gether on  a  smoke,  because  the  Lord  descended  upon 
it  in  fire,  and  the  smoke  thereof  ascended  as  the  smoke 
of  a  furnace,  and  the  whole  mount  quaked  greatly. 
And  when  the  voice  of  the  trumpet  sounded  long  and 
waxed  louder  and  louder,  Moses  spake  and  God  an- 


redemption's  working-day.  37 

pwerecl  him  hy  a  voice.  And  God  spake  these  words 
as  the  fourth  commandment  of  the  Decalogue,  "Ee- 

MEMBER  THE  SABBATH    DAY  TO   KEEP    IT    HOLY.      Six 

days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work ;  but  the 
seventh  is  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God;  in  it 
thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor 
thy  daughter,  nor  thy  man  servant,  nor  thy  maid 
servant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within 
thy  gates ;  for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and 
earth,  the  sea  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the 
seventh  day.  Wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  seventh 
day  and  hallowed  it." 

Now  observe  that  this  command  is  incorporated 
with  all  other  moral  commands,  and  is  therefore  one 
of  them,  and  they  were  all  written  by  the  finger  of 
God  upon  tables  of  stone,  to  indicate  their  perpetual 
obligation.  But  these  moral  precepts,  given  in  this 
formal  manner  to  the  Israelites  only,  were  not  binding 
on  them  exclusively;  they  are  obligatory  upon  all 
mankind.  All  intelligent  creatures,  when  placed  in 
relations  cont-emplated  by  the  law,  are  bound  to  obey 
the  law.  It  is  obligatory  upon  all  men  to  worship 
God  and  him  only — to  avoid  idolatry  and  profanity, 
and  equally  so  to  remember  the  sabbath  day  to  keep 
it  holy.  Cessation  from  worldly  business  and  labor 
for  the  meat  that  perisheth,  devotion  to  religious 
services  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  the  culture  of  the 
spiritual  and  moral  powers  and  affections,  are  no  less 
necessary  to  other  men  than  to  the  Jew.  All  needed 
the  sabbath,  and  the  sabbath  had  from  the  beginning 
been  given  to  all.  But  to  meet  an  exigency  which 
God  foresaw  would  arise  through  the  general  defection 
4 


38  THE    SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOKD. 

of  mankind  from  Ins  worship  and  their  prostitution  to 
idolatry ;  to  provide  a  national  depository  for  the  ora- 
cles of  truth ;  to  preserve  the  true  religion  from  utter 
extinction,  and  to  carry  on  by  the  best  instrumentality 
the  great  work  of  redemption,  God  saw  fit  to  call 
Abraham,  and  to  separate  his  seed  to  himself  as  a  pe- 
culiar people.    In  the  promise  made  to  him  and  his  seed 
of  the  land  of  Canaan  for  an  everlasting  inheritance,  and 
that  in  him  and  in  his  seed  should  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  be  blessed,  was  included  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
which  God  purposes  to  establish  upon  the  earth,  and 
of  which  the  seed  of  Abraham  are  to  be  the  heirs. 
The  covenant  thus  made  regarded  primarily  the  seed 
of  faith,  who,  begotten  by  the  word  of  truth,  are  the 
children  of  promise,  and  shall  be  made  kings  and 
priests  in  that  kindom.     It  also  had  respect  to  the  na- 
tural seed,  in  whom  it  was  to  be  tested  whether  it  were 
practicable  or  not  to  prepare  a  nation  in  natural  flesh 
for   such  a  glorious   destiny.     "When   therefore  God 
essayed  to  go  and  take  them  "  from  the  midst  of  an- 
other nation,  by  temptations,  by  signs,  and  by  won- 
ders, and  by  war,  and  by  a  mighty  hand,  and  by  a 
Wretched  out  arm,  and  by  great  terrors,"  as  he  did  in 
Egypt,  it  was  to  make  himself  known  to  them  as  the 
only  living  and  .true  God,  to  instruct  them  and  train 
them  up  for  the  inheritance,  the  everlasting  possession 
of  which  was  promised  to  them  nationally  on  condi- 
tion that  they  should  obey  his  voice  and  keep  the 
statutes   and   commandments  which   he   gave   them. 
Hence  to  them  in  this  relation  pertained  "  the  adop- 
tion, and  the  glory,  and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving 
of  the  law,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the  promises." 


redemption's  working-day.  39 

These  belonged  to  them  nationally  as  long  as  their 
national  trial  lasted,  and  to  no  other  nation.  These 
belonged  to  them  not  absolutely  bat  conditionally; 
and  God  separated  them  as  a  nation  to  himself,  and 
nourished  and  instructed  them  in  the  wilderness,  and 
planted  them  in  the  land  of  Canaan  under  laws  and 
institutions,  which  if  obeyed,  would  have  insured  to 
them  the  fulfillment  of  the  promises  and  the  possession 
of  the  glory. 

Among  the  ordinances  which  he  gave  them,  the  ob- 
servance of  the  sabbath,  in  its  connection  with  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  and  because  of  its  moral  and  saving- 
influence  upon  the  hearts  and  the  minds  of  the  people, 
was  made  pre-eminent.  Its  observance  was  strictly 
enjoined  upon  them  by  special  enactment  and  enforced 
by  severe  penalties.  Thus  God  said,  "  Yerily  my  sab- 
bath ye  shall  keep ;  for  it  is  a  sign  between  me  and 
you,  throughout  your  generations,  that  ye  may  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord  that  doth  sanctify  you.  Ye  shall 
keep  the  sabbath  therefore  ;  for  it  is  holy  unto  you : 
every  one  that  defileth.  it  shall  surely  be  put  to  death ; 
for  whosoever  doth  any  work  therein,  that  soul  shall 
be  cut  off  from  among  his  people :  Six  days  may  Avork 
be  done :  but  in  the  seventh  is  the  Sabbath  of  rest, 
holy  to  the  Lord,  whosoever  doth  any  work  in  the 
sabbath  day,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death.  Where- 
fore the  children  of  Israel  shall  keep  the  sabbath,  to 
observe  the  sabbath  throughout  their  generations,  for 
a  perpetual  covenant.  It  is  a  sign  between  me  and 
the  children  of  Israel  forever :  for  in  six  days  the 
Lord  made  heaven  and  earth  and  on  the  seventh  day 
he  rested  and  was  refreshed."  Ex.  xxxi.  13-17.     We 


40  THE   SABBATH   AND  ITS   LOED. 

can  scarcely  estimate  the  importance  here  attached  to 
the  observance  of  the  sabbath  by  the  nation  of  Israel. 
We  may  approximate  thereto  by  a  consideration  of 
the  nature  and  end  of  the  sabbath  as  the  sign  of  their 
national  covenant.  The  end  to  be  attained  by  the 
nation  through  a  truly  religious  and  devout  observ- 
ance of  the  sabbath  was  their  national  sanctification 
in  the  flesh  and  consequent  possession  of  the  glory 
and  blessedness  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  was  to 
be  the  means  of  attaining  the  highest  degree  of  spir- 
itual life  and  the  highest  condition  of  dignity  and  hap- 
piness. It  was  therefore  a  crime  of  great  turpitude 
to  defile  that  holy  day ;  for  it  was  to  aim  a  deadly 
blow  at  the  eternal  life,  blessedness  and  glory  of  the 
nation.  The  nation  of  Israel  were,  by  the  terms  of 
the  covenant  God  made  with  them,  in  a  state  of  trial 
similar  to  that  of  Adam  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  The 
covenant  vv^ith  Adam  involved  the  life  of  all  his  seed. 
to  be  perpetually  prolonged  by  access  to  the  tree  of 
life  on  condition  of  his  obedience ;  but  the  penalty  of 
his  transgression  was  death  to  all :  and  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil  was  the  sign  through 
which  his  obedience  was  tested.  So  in  God's  covenant 
with  Israel  the  sabbath  was  chosen  as  the  sign  through 
which  their  obedience  was  tested.  An  unbroken  ob- 
servance of  the  sabbath  by  the  nation  would  have 
secured  to  them  the  everlasting  possession  of  the  king- 
dom and  its  glory;  but  for  its  national  profanation 
they  were  to  be  cut  off  therefrom.  Individual  defec- 
tion, if  visited  according  to  the  command  of  God  with 
the  penalty  of  death  by  the  national  authority,  would 
not  vitiate  the  covenant.    Bat  if  in  their  national  capa- 


41 

city  they  failed  to  execute  the  penalty  from  fear  of 
or  favor  to  the  criminal,  then  the  sin  became  national, 
and  the  covenant  was  broken.  An  instance  illustra- 
tive of  this  is  given  in  the  case  of  the  man  who  was 
found  gathering  sticks  upon  the  sabbath  day.  And 
they  that  found  him  gathering  sticks,  brought  him  to 
Moses  and  Aaron  and  all  the  congregation ;  and  they 
put  him  in  ward,  because  it  was  not  declared  what 
should  be  done  unto  him.  The  special  enactment  be- 
fore quoted  had  indeed  declared  that  whosoever  defiled 
the  sabbath  should  be  put  to  death,  that  whosoever  did 
any  work  therein  should  be  cut  off  from  among  his 
people ;  but  it  had  not  been  declared  in  what  manner 
he  should  be  executed.  It  was  therefore  referred  to 
the  Lord,  and  the  answer  to  Moses  was,  "The  man 
shall  surely  be  put  to  death ;  all  the  congregation 
shall  stone  him  with  stones  without  the  camp."  It 
was  to  be  the  act  of  all  the  congregation.  The  crime 
he  had  committed  was  against  the  whole  nation,  and 
the  nation  were  by  their  act  to  put  away  the  evil  from 
among  them  and  free  themselves  from  the  guilt  of 
polluting  the  sabbath.  The  national  interests  required 
it — the  everlasting  well-being  of  the  whole  congrega- 
tion required  that  this,  as  wxll  as  other  violations 
of  the  covenant  by  individuals,  should  be  punished 
with  death.  And  a  failure  to  execute  the  penalty 
would  involve  the  nation  in  the  guilt,  and  cause  them 
to  be  cut  off  from  the  blessings  of  the  covenant. 

The  covenant  God  made  with  them  as  recorded  in 

Ex.  xix.  5,  6,  "  Now,  therefore,  if  ye  will  obey  my 

voice  indeed,  and  keep  my  covenant,  then  ye  shall  be 

a  peculiar  treasure  unto  me  above  all  people :  for  all 

4* 


42  THE    SABBATH    AND   ITS    LOED. 

the  earth  is  mine :  and  je  shall  be  unto  me  a  kingdom 
of  priests  and  a  holy  nation,"  extended  throughout  all 
their  generations  from  the  exode  until  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah  in  the  flesh  to  confirm  the  same ;  but  it 
was  made  or  renewed  with  each  generation  on  condi- 
tion of  their  obeying  his  voice  and  keeping  his  cove- 
nant. But  this  they  did  not  do :  for  God  testifies 
against  them  by  his  prophet  Ezekiel,  that  when  he 
chose  Israel  in  the  land  of  Egypt  and  promised  to  be 
their  God,  and  lifted  up  his  hand  to  bring  them  forth 
out  of  Egypt  into  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey, 
he  said  to  them,  "  Cast  ye  away  every  man  the  abomi- 
nation of  his  eyes,  and  defile  not  yourselves  with  the 
idols  of  Egypt."  But  they  rebelled  against  him  and 
would  not  hearken :  yet  he  brought  them  into  the 
wilderness  and  gave  them  statutes  and  showed  them 
judgments,  which  if  a  man  do  he  shall  even  live  in 
them,  that  is,  their  life  should  be  perpetually  secured 
by  their  obedience ;  and  gave  them  his  sabbaths  to  be 
a  sign  between  him  and  them,  in  which  their  obe- 
dience should  be  tested,  that  they  might  know  (prove) 
that  he  was  the  Lord  that  sanctified  them.  But  the 
whole  house  of  Israel  rebelled  against  him  in  the  wil- 
derness, walked  not  in  his  statutes,  despised  his  judg- 
ments, and  polluted  his  sabbaths ;  so  that  generation 
was  cut  off,  and  the  covenant  was  renewed  with  their 
children,  whom  he  brought  into  the  promised  land, 
and  to  whom  he  said,  ''  Walk  not  in  the  ways  of  your 
fathers,  but  walk  in  my  statutes  and  keep  my  judg- 
ments and  do  them ;  and  hallow  my  sabbaths ;  and 
they  shall  be  a  sign  between  me  and  you,  that  ye  may 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God."     But  they  like- 


EEDEMPTION^S  WOKKING-DAY.  43 

wise  rebelled  and  obeyed  not  tlie  voice  of  the  Lord, 
and  polluted  his  sabbaths,  and  so  generation  after 
generation  broke  the  covenant  and  were  cut  off,  until 
at  last  the  trial  of  the  natural  seed  ended,  and  they 
have  since  been  scattered  among  the  nations,  and  dis- 
persed through  the  countries,  as  in  lifting  up  his  hand 
he  declared  they  should  be,  because  they  executed  not 
his  jugments  and  despired  his  statutes,  and  polluted 
his  sabbaths,,  and  their  eyes  were  after  their  idols. 
Ezek.  XX.  2-24. 

Promises  of  national  honor,  glory,  and  blessedness 
were  repeatedly  made  to  them  throughout  their  gene- 
rations, and  in  such  terms  as  accord  with  the  original 
covenant.  Of  this  we  have  several  instances  recorded 
in  the  prophets.  Thus  in  Isaiah  Iviii.  13,  14,  after 
admonishing  them  to  obey  the  statutes  of  the  Lord, 
and  promising  a  great  reward  corresponding  to  their 
faithfulness,  he  says,  ''  If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from 
the  sabbath,  from  doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day ; 
and  call  the  sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of  the  Lord, 
honorable ;  and  shalt  honor  him,  not  doing  thine  own 
ways,  nor  finding  thine  own  pleasure,  nor  speaking 
thine  own  words ;  then  shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in 
the  Lord ;  and  I  will  cause  thee  to  ride  upon  the  high 
places  of  the  earth,  and  feed  thee  with  the  heritage  of 
Jacob  thy  father ;  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it."  Here  we  have  the  renewal  of  the  cove- 
nant to  that  generation  in  the  promise  of  all  its  special 
blessings  on  condition  that  they  woukl  obey  his  voice 
and  keep  his  sabbaths.  If  obedient,  they  were  to  pos- 
sess the  high  places  of  the  earth — the  supreme  govern- 
ment of  all  nations,  and  enjoy  the  heritage  of  Jacob 


44  THE   SABBATH   AND  ITS   LOKD. 

their  father,  embracing  all  the  blessings  of  the  cove- 
nant God  had  made  with  Abraham,  and  therefore  the 
kingdom  and  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the 
whole  heaven.  Again  it  is  written,  Jeremiah  xvii. 
24,  25,  "  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  ye  diligently 
hearken  to  me,  saith  the  Lord,  to  bring  in  no  burden 
through  the  gates  of  this  city  on  the  sabbath  day,  but 
hallow  the  sabbath  day  to  do  no  work  therein  ;  then 
shall  there  enter  into  the  gates  of  this  city  kings  and 
princes  sitting  upon  the  throne  of  David,  riding  in 
chariots  and  on  horses,  they  and  their  princes,  the 
men  of  Judah  and  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  to- 
gether :  and  this  city  shall  remain  forever."  In  this 
place  the  covenant  is  again  renewed  with  another 
generation  with  the  promise  of  making  them  kings 
and  princes  in  an  everlasting  polity  on  condition  of 
their  obedience.  And  had  they  kept  the  covenant, 
then  the  tabernacle  of  David  had  never  fallen,  and  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  would  have  been  confirmed  and 
established  in  their  hands.  Once  more,  in  Psalm  Ixxxi. 
13-16,  God  says,  ''^O  that  my  people  had  hearkened 
unto  me,  and  Israel  had  walked  in  my  ways!  I 
should  soon  have  subdued  their  enemies,  and  turned 
my  hand  against  their  adversaries.  The  haters  of  the 
Lord  should  have  submitted  themselves  unto  him; 
but  their  time  should  have  endured  forever.  He 
would  have  fed  them  also  with  the  finest  of  wheat, 
and  with  honey  out  of  the  rock  should  I  have  satis- 
fied thee."  Here  we  find  that  if  they  had  fulfilled  the 
conditions  of  the  covenant,  their  enemies  should  have 
been  subdued  to  their  sway,  the  haters  of  the  Lord 
should  have  been   subjected  and  reconciled  to   his 


WORKING -DAY.  45 

government  througli  their  instrumentality,  and  their 
time  should  have  endured  forever  in  the  enjoyment  of 
the  richest  blessings  of  grace  and  providence.  And 
when  at  last  the  Messiah  came,  and  the  hills  and  vales 
of  Judea  resounded  with  the  voice  of  one  crying  in 
the  wilderness,  "  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
make  his  paths  straight,"  a  final  offer  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  was  made  to  the  nation  in  the  generation 
then  living  on  condition  of  their  repentance  and  bring- 
ing forth  the  fruits  suitable  thereto.  But  they  knew 
not  the  time  of  their  gracious  visitation.  They  turned 
not  from  the  iniquity  of  their  doings,  and  their  sin 
reached  its  culmination  in  their  willful  and  malicious 
rejection  of  the  Messiah.  Hence  Jesus  exclaimed, 
''  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  pro- 
phets and  stonest  them  that  are  sent  unto  thee !  how 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together 
even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her 
wings,  and  ye  would  not  1  Behold,  your  house  is  left 
unto  you  desolate.  For  I  say  unto  you.  Ye  shall  not 
see  me  henceforth,  till  ye  shall  say,.  Blessed  is  he  that 
Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Matthe-w  sxiii.  37- 
39.  ''  How  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children 
together,"  refers  to  his  reiterated  offers  of  the  salva- 
tion and  glory  of  the  kingdom  to  all  their  generations 
from  the  time  in  which  he  brought  them  out  of 
Egypt  until  that  moment  in  which  he  contemplated 
the  desolation  of  their  city  and  temple,  and  their  long 
dispersion  and  tribulation.  For  he  it  was  who  was 
with  them  in  the  wilderness  and  went  before  them  in 
the  pillar  of  cloud  and  the  pillar  of  fire ;  who  gave 
them  his  laws  and  statutes  from  Mount  Sinai,  and  ap- 


46  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LOED. 

pointed  the  sabbatli  as  the  sign  of  their  obedien  ;e. 
He  it  was  who  brought  them  into  the  promised  land 
and  established  his  tabernacle  among  them,  and  sent 
them  his  prophets,  rising  up  early  and  sending  them. 
And  he  it  was  who,  having  become  incarnate,  wept 
over  their  continued  disobedience  and  their  conse- 
quent desolation  and  misery.  Previous  generations 
had  broken  the  covenant,  and  the  Divine  judgments 
had  fallen  upon  them ;  but  those  judgments  were  not 
final,  because  the  time  of  trial  had  to  be  prolonged 
from  one  generation  to  another  until  the  Messiah 
should  come.  But  when  Christ  had  come  and  they 
had  consummated  their  national  unbelief  and  dis- 
obedience by  rejecting  and  crucifying  him,  the  wrath 
came  upon  them  to  the  uttermost,  and  they  were  cut 
off  and  dispersed  among  the  nations,  until  at  the  time 
of  the  second  advent  of  Christ,  they  shall  be  restored, 
and  shall,  on  beholding  him  coming  in  the  glory  of  his 
Father,  say,  "  Blessed  is  h^  that  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord." 

We  see,  then,  in  connection  with  their  national  cove- 
nant and  trial,  how  important  the  sabbath  was  to 
them,  being  made  the  sign  and  test  of  their  obedience. 
ISTehemiah,  when  he  was  governor  of  Judea,  says, 
"In  those  days  saw  I  in  Judah  some  treading  wine- 
presses on  the  sabbath,  and  bringing  in  sheaves,  and 
lading  asses;  as  also  wine,  grapes,  and  figs  and  all 
manner  of  burdens  which  they  brought  into  Jeru- 
salem on  the  sabbath  day.  And  I  testified  against 
them  in  the  day  wherein  they  sold  victuals.  There 
dwelt  men  of  Tyre  also  therein  which  brought  fish, 
and  all  manner  of  ware,  and  sold  on  the  sabbath  unto 


EEDEMPTIOX'S    WORKING-DAY.  47 

t"he  children  of  Judali  and  in  Jerusalem.  Then  I 
contended  with  the  nobles  of  Jiidah,  and  said  unto 
them,  What  evil  is  this  that  ye  do,  and  profane  the 
sabbath  day?  Did  not  your  fathers  thus,  and  did 
not  our  God  bring  all  this  evil  upon  us  and  upon  this 
city  ?  yet  ye  bring  more  wrath  upon  Israel  by  pro- 
faning the  sabbath."  Keh.  xiii.  15-18.  It  was  this 
national  desecration  of  the  sabbath  which,  from  gene- 
ration to  generation,  brought  upon  them  the  wrath  of 
God.  Not  that  this  was  their  only  sin,  or  even  their 
chief  sin ;  for  other  and  greater  sins  are  charged 
against  them ;  but  the  sabbath  having  been  selected 
as  a  sign  or  test,  its  proper  sanctification  would  have 
been  proof  of  their  obedience  in  other  matters  also ; 
and  its  desecration  was  a  manifest  evidence  of  their 
rebellion  and  wickedness.  When  they  profaned  the 
sabbath,  it  was  a  proof  that  they  obeyed  not  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  and  kept  not  his  covenant.  Hence 
the  Lord  said,  ''  If  ye  will  not  hearken  unto  me  to 
hallow  the  sabbath,  and  not  to  bear  a  burden,  even 
entering  in  at  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  on  the  sabbath 
day ;  then  will  I  kindle  a  lire  in  the  gates  thereof,  and 
it  shall  devour  the  palaces  of  Jerusalem,  and  it  shall 
not  be  queuched."  Jeremiah  xvii.  27.  And  so  at 
last  when  their  trial  terminated  as  already  shown,  the 
Jewish  nationality  was  totally  subverted,  and  their 
city  and  country  have  ever  since  been  trodden  down 
of  the  gentiles:  the  fire  has  devoured  their  palaces 
and  they  are  a  dispersed  and  afSicted  people. 

But  as  their  national  covenant  could  not  be  vitiated 
by  the  sin  or  transgressions  of  individuals  as  long  as 
they  executed  the  judgments  of  God  against  such ;  so 


48  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LORD. 

the  blessings  of  the  covenant  were  not  forfeited  to  those 
who  believed  in  and  obeyed  God  by  the  national  infi- 
delity :  "  For  what  if  some  did  not  believe,  shall  their 
unbelief  make  the  faith  of  God  without  effect  ?  By 
no  means."  God  is  true  to  his  covenant  of  grace, 
and  faithful  to  his  promise  in  Christ.  And  in  all 
generations  there  has  been  a  remnant  who  by  faith 
have  been  justified  before  God,  and  to  whom  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  promise  is  pledged.  Hence  the  Lord 
said,  "Keep  ye  judgment  and  do  justice;  for  my  sal- 
vation is  near  to  come,  and  my  righteousness  to  be 
revealed.  Blessed  is  the  man  that  doth  this,  and  the 
son  of  man  that  layeth  hold  upon  it,  that  keepeth  the 
sabbath  from  polluting  it,  and  keepeth  his  hand  from 
doing  any  evil.  Nether  let  the  son  of  the  stranger 
that  hath  joined  himself  to  the  Lord  speak,  saying. 
The  Lord  hath  utterly  separated  me  from  his  people ; 
neither  let  the  eunuch  say,  Behold,  I  am  a  dry  tree. 
For  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  the  eunuchs  that  keep 
my  sabbaths,  and  choose  the  things  that  please  me, 
and  take  hold  of  my  covenant ;  even  unto  them  will 
I  give  in  my  house,  and  within  my  walls,  a  place  and 
a  name  better  than  of  sons  and  daughters.  I  will  give 
them  an  everlasting  name  that  shall  not  be  cut  off. 
Also  the  sons  of  the  strangers  that  join  themselves 
unto  the  Lord,  to  serve  him,  and  to  love  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  to  be  his  servants,  every  one  that  keepeth 
the  sabbath  from  polluting  it,  and  taketh  hold  of  my 
covenant ;  even  them  will  I  bring  to  my  holy  moun- 
tain, and  make  them  joyful  in  my  house  of  prayer." 
Isa.  Ivi.  1-7.  Thus  we  learn  that  notwithstanding 
God  foresaw  that  the  result  of  the  national  trial  of  the 


redemption's   WORKIXG-DAY.  4:9 

natural  seed  would  terminate  in  their  rejection  in  con- 
sequence of  their  continued  violation  of  the  covenant 
throughout  their  generations,  still  their  unbelief  as  a 
nation  has  not  rendered  void  the  promise  of  God  in 
relation  to  individuals;  but  provision  was  made  in 
accordance  with  foreknowledge  for  the  salvation  of  all 
who  believed  in  God's  word ;  not  only  of  the  natural  seed, 
but  also  of  strangers — others  than  Israelites — who  be- 
came sincere  proselytes,  and  joined  themselves  to 
the  Lord,  kept  the  sabbath,  and  took  hold  of  the 
.covenant.  And  with  this  agrees  the  saying,  "Though 
Israel  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  yet  a  remnant  shall 
be  saved." 

The  sabbath  is  Eedemption's  working-day,  and 
divinely  appointed  to  be  such  to  the  Jewish  people 
nationally  and  individually.  By  a  strict  obedience  to 
the  Lord's  commands,  in  walking  in  his  statutes  and 
ordinances,  executing  his  judgments  and  hallowing 
his  sabbaths,  it  was  in  their  power  as  a  nation  to 
have  obtained  the  kingdom,  to  have  been  made  a  pe- 
culiar people  unto  the  Lord  above  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  to  have  been  made  a  kingdom  of  priests 
and  a  holy  nation.  That  was  the  prize  set  before 
them  and  promised  to  them  on  their  fulfillment  of  the 
terms  of  the  covenant.  "But  their  heart  was  not 
right  with  him,  neither  were  they  steadfast  in  his 
covenant."  Instead  therefore  of  working  out  their 
national  redemption,  they  brought  upon  themselves 
the  curses  written  in  the  book,  and  were  finally  ex- 
cluded from  the  blessings  of  the  covenant.  Their  re- 
jection was  their  own  fault,  as  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 
some  of  Israel  have  in  every  generation  through  faith 
5 


60  THE   SABBATH  AND   ITS   LORD. 

taken  hold  of  the  covenant  and  have  received  the 
promise  of  eternal  life.  And  what  some  have  done, 
all  might  have  done.  The  sabbath  and  the  moral 
influences  associated  therewith  have  not  been  em- 
ployed in  vain  by  any  one  desirous  of  working  out 
his  salvation  before  God ;  for  through  those  instrumen- 
talities God  wrought  in  them  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
good  pleasure. 

The  first  and  most  important  point  in  regard  to  the 
sabbath  was  to  sanctify  it.  "  Eemember  the  sabbath  day 
to  keep  it  holy."  This  command  related  to  its  use  as  a- 
day  of  special  religious  services.  On  this  day  the 
priests  sacrificed  two  lambs  for  a  burnt-offering,  with 
wine  and  meal,  and  placed  on  the  golden  table 
twelve  new  loaves  of  show-bread  in  place  of  the  stale 
ones,  which  were  then  removed.  These  loaves  repre- 
sented the  twelve  tribes,  who  could  not  all  appear 
personally  in  the  temple,  but  who  kept  the  sabbath 
in  their  places  of  abode  or  dwellings.  And  the  bread 
was  called  the  bread  of  faces  or  bread  of  the  presence, 
because,  representing  the  twelve  tribes,  it  was  designed 
to  indicate  their  appearing  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  every  sabbath  day.  And  the  pious  Jew  knew 
that,  as  he  worshiped  in  a  distant  part  of  the  land 
with  his  face  towai4  the  temple,  he  was  thus  repre- 
sented by  the  fresh  cakes  on  the  golden  table  every 
sabbath  and  through  the  whole  week.  Every  tribe 
and  every  individual  belonging  to  the  tribe  was  em- 
braced in  this  representation,  and  every  one  knew  the 
hours  appointed  for  sacrifice  and  prayer,  and  could 
join  in  the  worship  wherever  he  might  be ;  for  he 
who  dwelt  between  the  cherubim,  was  everywhere 


51 

present  to  accept  the  offerings  of  the  sincere  wor- 
shiper, "  The  ejes  of  the  Lord  are  in  every  place, 
beholding  the  evil  and  the  good."  The  sabbath  was 
further  appropriately  spent  in  doing  good  works ;  in 
prayer,  thanksgiving  and  praise ;  in  the  study  of  the 
law  of  God,  and  in  devout  and  heavenly  contempla- 
tions of  his  nature,  character,  perfections  and  pur- 
poses. 

The  next  point  was  that  it  should  be  strictly  kept 
as  a  day  of  rest  from  all  secular  employment.  It  was 
not  lawful  for  any  one  to  pursue  his  business  or  trade 
on  that  day.  Every  occupation  of  a  worldly  charac- 
ter was  prohibited.  It  was  not  even  allowed  to  kindle 
a  fire  for  the  purpose  of  cooking  or  performing  any 
menial  or  servile  labor.  The  man-servant  and  maid- 
servant were  to  rest  as  well  as  their  master,  and  every 
preparation  to  that  end  was  to  be  made  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  which  was  therefore  called  the  day  of  pre- 
paration. Works  of  necessity  and  mercy  only  were 
allowed.  They  might  feed  and  water  their  cattle, 
or  if  any  of  their  animals  fell  into  a  pit,  they  might 
lift  it  out.  Jesus,  who  understood  the  true  nature 
and  extent  of  the  law,  and  who  did  always  those 
things  which  were  acceptable  to  God,  performed 
works  of  benevolence,  such  as  healing  the  sick  and 
curing  the  lame  and  the  blind;  and  laid  down  the 
maxim  in  opposition  to  the  superstition  of  the  Phari- 
sees, that  it  was  lawful  to  do  good  on  the  sabbath 
days. 

Now,  though  the  nation  was  delinquent  in  enforcing 
as  it  should  the  law  of  the  sabbath,  and  broke  the 
covenant,  forfeiting  all  right  to  the  distinguished  bless* 


52  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOED. 

iDgs  promised  to  tliem  as  a  nation;  yet  such  per- 
sons as  remembered  tlie  sabbatli  in  this  manner,  ab- 
staining from  all  work  or  secular  employment,  and 
employing  its  sacred  hours  in  the  service  of  God  and 
humanity;  found  that  the  sabbath  was  pre-eminently 
conducive  to  their  sanctification  and  the  promotion  of 
their  religious  and  spiritual  advancement.  They  thus 
attained  to  the  end  of  its  institution,  and  their  faith 
took  hold  of  the  promised  rest  which  remaineth  to 
the  people  of  God.  They  all,  indeed,  died  in  faith, 
not  having  received  the  promises,  but  having  seen 
them  afar  off,  were  persuaded  of  them  and  embraced 
them.  They  looked  for  their  fulfillment  at  the  time 
of  the  better  resurrection  which  they  anticipated,  as 
secured  by  the  promise  itself  to  all  who  being  the  seed 
of  faith  shall  be  blessed  with  faithful  Abraham.  The 
sabbath  was  a  sign  between  them  and  God,  and  it 
shed  upon  them  the  sanctifying  influences  of  a  gloriouo 
hope,  which  nerved  their  souls  with  strength  in  trial, 
armed  them  with  patience  in  suffering,  made  them 
more  than  conquerors  over  the  world,  and  cheered 
them  in  their  last  moments. 

But  it  had  this  effect  only  upon  those  who  had 
faith  in  the  promises,  and  whose  obedience  was  the 
offspring  of  faith.  A  mere  formal,  legal,  and  hypo- 
critical observance  of  that  day  produced  no  such  eflect. 
And  such  an  observance  of  the  day  was  not  accept- 
able to  God.  All  religious  services  to  be  accepted  of 
him  must  be  sincere.  He  says  in  Isa.  i.  13,  "Bring 
no  more  vain  oblations — incense  is  an  abomination  unto 
me — the  new  moons  and  sabbaths  and  the  calling  of 
assemblies  I  cannot  away  with."     God  did  not  ordain 


EEDEMPTIOX'S    WOOKIXG-DAY.  53 

these  things  merely  for  the  sake  of  them,  or  because 
he  had  any  pleasure  in  them ;  but  he  ordained  them 
as  modes  of  giving  expression  to  faith,  and  as  means 
of  sincere  and  true  worship.  AVhen  offered  in  faith ; 
when  attended  to  with  a  devout  and  sincere  mind, 
they  had  a  pleasing  savor ;  but  otherwise  they  were 
an  abomiation ; 

*'  For  God  abhors  the  sacrifice 

Where  not  the  heart  is  found." 

In  the  time  of  our  Saviour  the  scribes  and  Pharisees 
were  very  strict  in  their  legal  observance  of  the  sab- 
bath as  a  day  of  cessation  from  labor,  as  well  as  punc- 
tillious  in  their  attention  to  other  rites  and  ceremonies ; 
but  their  religion  was  all  an  outside  show,  a  little 
gilding  over  the  surface  while  all  within  was  rotten. 
There  was  no  faith  at  bottom ;  there  was  no  spirituality 
in  their  religion.  It  was  merely  a  form  and  possessed 
no  life-giving  power.  Their  religion  was  a  mere  cloak 
with  which  they  sought  to  conceal  their  robbery,  ex- 
tortion and  uncleanness.  But  they  who  sanctified  the 
sabbath  according  to  the  Divine  command,  were  sanc- 
tified in  turn  by  its  reflex  influence  upon  their  minds 
and  hearts.  They  were  elevated  to  a  higher  and  holier 
atmosphere  of  love  and  duty.  They  had  communion 
and  fellowship  with  God,  and  found  the  sabbath  a  de- 
light, in  which  they  seemed  to  taste  of  the  powers  of 
the  world  to  come. 

''The  All-beneficent 
Cares  for  man's  better  nature,  and  has  given 
The  sabbath-rest  to  lead  his  thoughts  to  heaven.. 

5^ 


54:  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

Myriads  of  tlianks  for  this  divinest  gift, 
For  this  perpetually  recurring  day — 

Wherein  both  rich  and  poor — bond — free — can  lift 
Their  hopes  above  this  fading  world,  and  pray." 

R.  J.  Eames. 


8,  THE   SABBxVTH   UNDER  THE   GOSPEL. 

The  sabbath  is  redemption's  working-day.  It  was 
originally  set  apart  for  man's  use  and  benefit,  as  neces- 
sary for  the  proper  development  of  his  religious  and 
moral  nature,  even  in  a  state  of  innocence.  It  be- 
came still  a  greater  necessity  after  his  fall  into  sin, 
inasmuch  as  his  condition  then  presented  greater  ob- 
structions to  the  culture  of  his  inward  and  spiritual 
life.  Man  had  to  be  redeemed  from  sin,  and  in  the 
work  of  redemption,  the  sabbath  could  not  be  dis- 
pensed with.  I  have  shown  that  it  must  have  been 
known  and  observed  before  the  giving  of  the  Law  on 
Mount  Sinai.  Eusebius  says,  ''Almost  all  the  phi- 
losophers and  poets  acknowledge  the  seventh  day  as 
boly."  And  Philo  says,  "The  seventh  day  is  a  festi- 
val to  every  nation."  And  when  the  Lord  separated 
unto  himself  the  children  of  Israel,  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham his  friend,,  for  a  special  purpose,  he  constituted 
the  sabbath  as  a  sign  between  himself  and  them,  a 
test  of  their  obedience  in  relation  to  the  covenant  he 
made  with  them  when  he  took  them  by  the  hand  to 
bring  them  out  of  Egypt.  But  the  children  of  Israel 
did  not  keep  the  sabbath.  Generation  after  generation 
broke  the  covenant,  and  thus  was  demonstrated  the  im- 
practicability of  sanctifying  a  nation  in  natural  flesh, 
for  the  glory  and  blessedness  of  the  kingdom.     The 


eedejiption's  working-day.  55 

law,  including  not  only  the  moral  precepts  of  the 
decalogue,  but  also  the  whole  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
code  of  Israel;  was  given  as  the  only  means  whereby 
they  could  nationally  be  sanctified  and  prepared  for 
the  commitment  to  them  of  the  Divine  government 
over  the  world.  Obedience  to  the  law  was  the  only 
ground  of  justification  nationally.  The  result  of  their 
trial  showed  that  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no 
flesh  living  be  justified  in  the  sight  of  God.  The 
seed  of  Abraham  was  as  good  a  seed  and  as  well,  if 
not  better,  adapted  for  such  a  trial  as  any  that  fallen 
humanity  could  furnish.  Indeed^  their  election  of 
God  for  the  purpose  of  trial  is  sufficient  evidence  that 
there  were  none  better.  It  was  not  necessary,  there- 
fore, on  their  failure,  to  make  trial  of  any  other  nation 
in  like  manner.  The  result  would  have  been  the 
same.  A  mason  wishing  stone  of  a  particular  quality 
chooses  the  best  he  can  find  in  the  quarry,  and  if  it 
stand  not  the  test,  he  does  not  deem  it  necessary  to 
try  every  stone  separately,  but  rejects  the  whole ;  so 
God  having  tried  one  nation  of  men  in  natural  fleshy 
has  in  them  tested  and  rejected  all  nations.  The  trial 
of  any  other  would  only  have  furnished  additional 
evidence  of  the  fact  that  ''flesh  and  blood,"  or  men 
in  natural  flesh,  "  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God."  None  can  be  qualified  in  natural  flesh  to  be 
kings  and  priests  in  that  kingdom.  This  is  the  great 
truth  demonstrated  by  the  trial  of  the  natural  seed 
of  Abraham;  This  was  foreseen  by  the  Omniscient 
One,  and  provision  was  made  for  the  justification, 
sanctification,  and  final  salvation  of  a  righteous  seed 
on  entirely  different  grounds.   For  what  the  law  could 


56  THE    SABBATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

not  do  in  that  it  was  weak  or  inefficient  through  the 
flesh ;  not  weak  in  itself — the  provisions  of  the  law 
were  adequate  to  the  end  proposed — but  weak  on  ac- 
count of  human  depravity  and  corruption;  what, 
through  this  weakness,  the  law  could  not  do,  God 
otherwise  accomplished  through  the  gift  of  his  Son, 
whom  he  sent  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  that 
by  faith  in  him  we  might  be  justified  from  all  things 
from  which  we  could  not  be  justified  by  the  deeds  of 
the  law.  The  foundation  for  justification  on  this  plan 
was  laid  in  the  revelation  of  the  Divine  purpose  by 
the  declaration  that  the  seed  of  the  woman  should 
bruise  the  serpent's  head,  and  also  by  the  promise  to 
Abraham,  that  in  him  and  in  his  seed  should  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  be  blessed.  Thus  the  Gospel  was 
before  the  law,  and  from  Abel  down  to  Moses  there 
was  a  seed  of  faith ;  believers  in  the  promise  being 
counted  for  the  seed.  And  after  the  giving  of  the 
law,  while  the  Jewish  nation  were  tried  as  to  their 
ability  to  justify  themselves  by  the  deeds  of  the  law, 
individuals  of  the  nation,  believing  in  the  promise, 
were  justified  by  faith.  For  the  law  which  was  added 
for  the  trial  of  the  natural  seed  was  not  against  the 
promise  of  God ;  but  only  more  clearly  demonstrated 
the  necessity  of  the  promise,  and  served  as  a  school- 
master to  bring  them  to  Christ.  The  plan  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith  was  not  rendered  imperative  by  the 
law.  It  continued  in  force,  and  by  it  a  remnant  of 
Israel  was  saved,  and  constituted  a  chosen,  sanctified 
and  peculiar  company.  Israel  were  not  all  saved, 
though  all  might  have  been  saved  by  faith.  Their 
failure  to  attain  the  qualifications  necessary  to  inherit 


eedemption's  woeking-day.  57 

the  kingdom  in  natural  flesh,  was  no  bar  to  their  be- 
coming heirs  thereof  in  spiritual  and  glorified  bodies 
through  faith.  Those  who  did  believe  were  made 
heirs,  and  all  might  have  believed ;  but  thej,  ignorant 
of  God's  righteousness — of  his  plan  of  justifying  the 
ungodly — went  about  to  establish  their  own  righteous- 
ness— seeking  justification  by  the  deeds  of  the  law — 
not  submitting  themselves  to  the  righteousness  of  Godf. 
Hence  they  were  broken  oS^  through  or  on  account 
of  unbelief.  Their  unbelief  left  them  powerless 
against  the  corruption  of  their  own  hearts.  Their  un- 
belief shut  them  up  in  the  darkness  of  their  own 
minds.  Their  unbelief  made  the  word  of  God  of  no 
effect  unto  them ;  so  that  it  did  them  no  good,  not 
being  mixed  with  faith  in  them  that  heard  it.  Their 
unbelief  made  their  table  a  snare  and  a  stumbling 
block  unto  them,  and  the  provision  intended  for 
their  good  became  their  overthrow — the  occasion  of 
their  condemnation.  And  thus  their  national  trial 
ended  in  their  rejection  as  a  nation,  and  rendered  ne- 
cessary a  change  of  dispensation.  Many  of  the  natural 
branches  had  been  broken  off  because  of  unbelief,  and 
God  determined  to  graft  in  upon  the  stock  as  many 
of  the  gentiles  as  should  believe  the  Gospel,  to  sup- 
ply their  place  in  the  coming  kingdom.  Hence  the 
Gospel  dispensation  was  instituted  to  take  out  of  the 
gentiles  a  people  for  his  name,  who,  together  with  the 
saved  of  Israel,  shall  at  last  be  made  a  royal  priest- 
hood, a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people,  to  whom  the 
administration  of  the  kingdom  may  in  wisdom  and 
righteousness  be  committed.  Hence  the  Gospel  is 
preached  for  the  obedience  of  the  faith  among  all  na- 


58  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

tions.  And  whosoever  believetli  becomes  identified 
with  Christ,  is  grafted  into  the  good  olive  tree,  is  one 
of  Abraham's  seed,  and  an  heir  according  to  the 
promise.  Under  this  new  regime,  the  sabbath  is  still 
Eedemption's  working-day.  The  fourth  command- 
ment has  not  been  abrogated.  The  sabbath  is  still  to 
be  observed.  Its  use  as  a  day  of  cessation  from  labor 
and  business,  and  appropriation  to  our  religious  and 
moral  culture,  is  as  much  needed  as  ever.  But  the 
sabbath  is  not  now  a  sign  to  us,  as  it  was  to  the  Jew 
during  the  time  of  his  national  trial ;  for  we  are  not 
to  be  saved  by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  but  by  the  hear- 
ing of  faith.  No  nation  is  now  upon  trial  for  the  king- 
dom. The  trial  of  man  in  the  flesh  is  at  an  end. 
But  the  sabbath  remains  to  us  a  moral  precept,  requir- 
ing that  we  should  rest  from  weekly  toil  and  conse- 
crate the  seventh  of  our  time  to  the  public  worship 
of  God,  and  the  improvement  of  our  moral  and  reli- 
gious nature. 

It  is  indeed  true  that  the  observance  of  the  sabbath 
is  nowhere  expressly  enjoined  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  nowhere  mentioned,  except  to  redeem  it  from  the 
austerities  imposed  upon  it  by  human  traditions,  or  to 
show  that  Christians  are  not  to  observe  it  in  its  legal 
and  Jewish  aspect.  It  is  no  longer  to  be  regarded  as 
a  sign  or  test  of  obedience  to  law  in  a  national  trial  for 
the  sanctifying  of  the  flesh ;  but  it  has  the  same  moral 
bearing  that  it  had  before  the  law,  and  under  the  law. 
It,  comes  to  us  as  a  Divine  institution,  required  by 
man's  nature,  and  designed  for  man's  benefit.  It 
comes  to  us  sanctioned  by  the  same  authority  which 
commands  us  to  worship  the  only  living  and  true  Grod. 


bedemption's  working-day.  59 

to  avoid  idolatry  and  eschew  profanity.    Christianity 
does  not  raise  us  above  the  need  of  the  sabbath,  it  sim- 
ply changes  its  legal  aspect,  and  consecrates  it  to  our 
uso  in  the  promotion  of  our  highest  and  best  interests 
without  bringing  us  into  bondage.     The  sabbath,  re- 
garded by  the  Jew  as  the  sign  of  the  covenant  God 
had  made  with  his  nation,  and  the  test  of  his  obedience 
to  that  covenant,  was  invested  with  an  aspect  of  su- 
perstitious dread.     He  ceased  to  labor,  he  rested  from 
his  secular  business  only  to  feel  more  severely  the 
bondage  of  the  law.     He  feared  to  do  any  thing  on 
the  sabbath,  though  it  were  demanded  by  every  con- 
sideration of  humanity  and  goodness,  lest  he  should 
thereby  pollute  the  day  and  break  the  covenant.     In- 
stead of  its  being  a  delight,  the  sabbath  becomes  irk- 
some to  him.     The  carnal  mind  is  not  subject  to  the 
law   of  God,    neither   indeed   can   be.      His   inward 
thought  was  expressed  in  such  language  as  this,  "  Be- 
hold what  a  weariness  it  is !     When  will  the  sabbath 
be  gone,  that  we  may  buy  and  sell  and  get  gain  ?"    It 
■was  the  natural  man  developed  into  the  morose,  un- 
bending Pharisee,  striving  to  compensate  for  the  lack 
of  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith,  by  the  rigidity  of  his 
observance  of  rites  and  ceremonies,  which  he  felt  to 
be  a  burden.     Such  was  the  Jew  who  was  one  out- 
wardly and  who  served  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter. 
And  to  such  the  sabbath  wore  an  aspect  of  severity 
and  gloom.    Its  service  was  an  unwilling  tribute  paid 
to  an  exacting  despot.   Arraying  himself  in  the  habit 
of  a  starched  formality,  he  trod  with  scrupulous  exact- 
ness the  round  of  its  legal  ceremonies.     Far  different 
was  its  aspect  to  the  believer — to  the  one  who  was  a 


60  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LORD. 

Jew  inwardly — whose  delight  was  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord  after  the  inner  man.  To  him  the  sabbath  was  a 
delight  and  honorable,  and  its  services  were  the  re- 
joicing of  his  soul.  And  when  the  lengthening 
shadows  told  its  departure,  he  loved  to  linger  in  its 
twilight  shades  and  protract  the  sweet  intercourse  he 
held  with  God.  The  natural  man,  who  was  laboring 
to  justify  himself  in  the  external  observance  of  the 
law,  whose  spirituality  he  understood  not,  found  the 
sabbath  an  oppressive  burden.  And  to  the  natural 
seed  of  Abraham,  such,  in  its  legal  aspect,  the  sabbath 
really  was — a  burden  which  they  were  unable  to  bear, 
because  of  the  weakness  of  the  flesh.  That  use  of  the 
sabbath,  however,  ceased  on  the  termination  of  the  trial 
of  the  natural  seed;  and  this  is  perhaps  the  rea- 
son why  the  observance  of  the  sabbath  is  nowhere 
lenjoined  by  express  command  in  the  New  Testament, 
as  well  as  a  reason  why  the  time  of  its  observance  was 
changed  from  the  seventh  day  to  the  first  day  of  the 
week ;  circumstances  in  connection  with  our  subject 
which  require  special  consideration. 

It  will  not  escape  the  observation  of  the  diligent 
and  careful  student  of  the  Scriptures,  that  the  transi- 
tion from  the  Jewish  dispensation  to  th^  Christian  was 
not  sudden  and  violent,  but  gradual  and  dispassionate. 
Jesus  merely  indicated  such  a  change  in  his  parables 
and  by  passing  allusions ;  as  for  instance  in  the  reference 
he  made  to  Elijah's  being  sent  to  Zarephath  or  Sarepta 
to  a  gentile  woman — and  also  in  the  parable  of  the 
great  supper,  wherein  the  first  invited  guests  being 
found  unworthy,  the  servants  were  sent  forth  into  the 
highways  and  hedges  to  persuade  others  to  come  in. 


redemption's  working-day.  61 

And  He  said  to  liis  disciples,  "I  have  yet  many  things 
to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  How- 
beit,  when  he  the  Spirit  of  Truth  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth."  His  parable,  that  ''  new 
wine  must  not  be  put  into  old  bottles  (skins)  else  the 
bottles  will  burst  and  the  wine  be  spilled,  but  new 
wine  must  be  put  into  new  bottles  (skins)  and  both 
are  preserved,"  was  designed  to  teach  them  that  his 
doctrines  could  not  be  received  by  the  Jewish  mind. 
Their  prejudices  were  too  strong  for  the  reception  of 
the  truths  concerning  the  rejection  of  the  natural  eeed 
and  the  calling  of  the  gentiles.  Their  enlightenment 
on  these  points  was  left  to  the  operation  of  the  facts 
themselves  as  evolved  in  the  dispensation  of  his  pro- 
vidence, and  to  the  special  influence  of  the  Spirit  in 
connection  with  those  facts.  The  first  Christians  were 
all  Jews,  or  proselytes  of  Judaism,  and  were  exceed- 
ingly zealous  of  the  law.  It  required  a  special  reve- 
lation to  induce  Peter  to  go  and  preach  Jesus  Christ 
to  Cornelius  and  his  friends  who  were  gentiles.  And 
nothing  else  but  a  conviction  of  his  being  thus 
divinely  directed  by  a  vision  from  heaven  to  do  so, 
silenced  the  opposition  of  the  circumcision,  and  ex- 
torted the  confession,  "Then  hath  God  also  to  the 
gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life."  But  so  late  as 
the  middle  of  the  first  century  there  were  many  who 
taught  "  that  it  was  needful  to  circumcise"  the  gentile 
converts,  "  and  to  command  them  to  keep  the  law  of 
Moses,"  which  being  strenuously  opposed  by  Paul, 
the  question  was  referred  to  the  apostles  and  elders  for 
their  decision. 
Now  among  the  peculiarities  of  the  Jewish  economy 
6 


62  THE   SABZATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

was  the  legal  use  of  the  sabbath  as  a  sign  of  their  na- 
tional covenant  and  a  test  of  their  obedience  to  its 
requirements.  This  use  had  for  ages  become  asso- 
ciated with  the  seventh  day  of  the  week;  and  any 
command  of  Christ  or  of  his  apostles  to  perpetuate 
the  observance  of  this  day  would  have  been  almost, 
if  not  quite,  tantamount  to  a  sanction  of  its  legal  use, 
and  would  have  carried  with  it,  and  imposed  on  the 
Christian  church,  the  entire  burden  of  the  national 
covenant  of  which  the  sabbath  was  the  sign.  On  this 
ground  I  account,  and  I  think  satisfactorily,  for  the 
absence  of  any  such  command.  It  was  not  intended 
that  such  a  use  of  the  sabbath  should  be  continued ; 
for  such  use  was  contrary  to  the  genius  of  the  Gospel, 
and  would  have  subverted  the  main  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion— justification  by  faith.  It  would  have  drawn 
along  with  it  all  the  positive  and  ceremonial  ob- 
servances of  Judaism,  and  have  set  all  men  upon  seek- 
ing justification  by  the  deeds  of  the  law.  It  might 
also  have  imposed  upon  the  church  the  Kabbinical 
•traditions.  The  Jewish  idea  was,  that  man  was  made 
for  the  sabbath ;  that  the  institution  was  an  arbitrary 
one,  to  which  man  was  absolutely  subjected  and  which 
must  be  observed  at  any  sacrifice  of  comfort  and  even 
of  life  itself.  The  e:xample  and  teaching  of  Christ 
was  designed  to  show  that  the  sabbath  was  made  for 
.man,  and  that  it  was  lawful  to  do  good  and  promote 
the  comfort,  health  and  well-being  of  man  on  that 
day.  He  fulfilled  the  law  of  the  sabbath  according  to 
Its  original  .constitution,  and  left  us  the  light  of  his 
example  and  teachings;  but  gave  no  command  for 
the  observance  of  the  day.     In  this,  also,  he  appears 


redemption's  working-day.  63 

to  have  anticipated  tlie  cliange  of  the  day  from  the 
seventh  to  the  first  of  the  week,  as  that  on  which  the 
sabbath  should  be  observed  during  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation. There  was  danger  that  even  in  the  ab- 
sence of  a  command,  the  continued  observance  of  the 
same  day  would  have  perpetuated  its  legal  use  under 
the  law,  and  thus  have  imposed  upon  Christians  the 
covenant  of  which  it  was  the  sign.  But  the  change 
was  not  made  at  once  by  positive  enactment.  It  was 
left  to  the  teachings  of  the  Spirit  under  the  facts  and 
revelations  of  the  new  dispensation.  The  Jewish  mind 
was  not  prepared  for  the  change  all  at  once.  It  had 
to  be  gradually  schooled  into  the  new  faith,  and  trained 
to  the  new  practice. 

The  first  thing,  then,  Avas  the  designation  of  an- 
other day  in  which  Christians  should  rest  from  their 
secular  business  and  attend  to  their  spiritual  interests. 
This  was  done  in  the  most  effective  manner  by  the 
resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead 
on  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week.  This 
was  the  most  stupendous  fact  of  redemption,  the  very 
foundation  of  our  faith  and  hope  in  Christ,  and  pre- 
eminently adapted  on  account  of  its  reviving,  consol- 
ing and  sanctifying  influences  to  be  associated  with 
the  sabbath  day.  During  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week,  Jesus,  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory,  lay  dead  in 
the  sepulchre.  It  was  to  the  natural  seed  their  last 
sabbath,  and  it  was  a  cancelled  one.  The  day  before 
was  the  preparation,  and,  had  they  received  him  as 
their  Messiah,  it  might  have  been  the  day  of  his  glo- 
rious coronation,  and  of  their  exaltation  with  him  in 
the  glory  of  his  kingdom ;  but  instead,  they  denied 


64  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LORD. 

him,  and  desired  a  murderer  to  be  delivered  unto 
them,  and  killed  the  Prince  of  life,  requiring,  with 
loud  voices,  that  he  should  be  crucified.  And  the 
soldiers  arrayed  him  in  cast-off  purple  robes,  crowned 
him  with  an  acanthus  wreath,  put  a  reed  in  his  hands 
for  a  sceptre,  and  mocked  him,  bowing  the  knee  and 
saying,  "  Hail  1  King  of  the  Jews !"  Then  they  cru- 
cified him,  and  Jesus,  just  before  he  dismissed  his 
spirit,  cried,  with  a  loud  voice,  "  It  is  finished !"  The 
trial  of  the  natural  seed  was  completed.  Their  unbe- 
lief and  rejection  of  him  was  consummated  in  that 
final  scene  of  the  mockery  and  crucifixion.  The  cove- 
nant, which  had  been  broken  by  generation  after 
generation,  was  annulled  forever.  The  Aaronic  priest- 
hood was  abrogated,  and  the  sacrificial  rites  and  offer- 
ings for  the  purifying  of  the  flesh  were  abolished. 
The  hand-writing  of  ordinances  was  nailed  to  his 
cross,  and  the  enmity  contained  therein  was  taken  out 
of  the  way.  The  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  from 
top  to  bottom,  and  their  house  was  left  unto  them  de- 
solate. And  on  the  seventh  day,  which  symbolized 
their  promised  rest,  and  concerning  which  God  had 
said,  "  This  is  the  rest  whereby  ye  may  cause  the 
weary  to  rest,  and  this  is  the  refreshing,  yet  they 
would  not  hear,"  the  crucified  Messiah'  lay  dead  in  the 
sepulchre,  to  indicate  that  as  the  sign  of  their  national 
covenant  it  was  utterly  abolished,  and  that  they  had 
failed  to  attain  that  which  it  signified.  They  were  as 
a  nation  rejected  and  their  sabbath  was  at  an  end. 
The  thing  signified  was  taken  from  them  and  the 
sign  was  withdrawn.  In  their  estimation  that  Sab- 
bath was  a  high  day.     They  had  killed  the  heir  and 


kedemption's  working-day.  65 

seized  on  his  inheritance.  And  for  fear  that  his  body 
might  be  stolen  from  the  sepulchre,  they  had  sealed 
the  stone  and  set  a  watch.  They  rejoiced  to  think 
that  the  only  one  who  seemed  to  be  in  the  way  of  their 
national  supremacy  and  glory  was  cut  off;  for  they 
knew  not  that  his  death  dissolved  the  relation  in  which 
they  stood  by  virtue  of  the  flesh,  and  transferred 
the  promise  of  the  covenant  to  the  seed  of  faith,  who 
were,  even  then,  keeping  that  sabbath  in  sorrow  and 
dismay.  They  had  trusted  that  it  was  he  who  should 
have  redeemed  Israel,  but  their  expectations  were  cut 
off  with  him,  and  their  hopes  were  sealed  up  in  his 
tomb.  They  still  thought  of  national  redemption  for 
the  natural  seed  in  the  flesh.  It  was  therefore  a  day 
of  rebuke  and  mourning  to  them.  Their  faith  in  him 
encouraged  them  still  to  look  for  some  light  to  arise 
in  their  obscurity,  and  in  the  end  of  the  sabbath,  as  it 
began  to  dawn  toward  the  first  day  of  the  week,  he 
rose  from  the  dead.  Then  they  were  begotten  again 
to  a  lively  hope.  Then  life  and  immortality  were  illus- 
trated and  a  new  order  of  things  was  introduced. 
And  though  their  question,  Wilt  thou  at  this  time 
restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?  indicated  that 
they  still  indulged  some  hope  of  Israel  according  to 
the  flesh,  they  soon  learned  that  the  flesh  was  repu- 
diated, and  that  the  children  of  promise  alone  were 
counted  for  the  seed.  A  new  dispensation  of  grace 
began,  which  shone  first,  indeed,  upon  Israel,  but  was 
designed  for  all  people,  and  in  which  the  Gospel  was 
to  be  preached  for  the  obedience  of  faith  among  all 
nations.  During  this  period,  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  in  which  all  true  believers  meet  for  religious 
6^ 


66  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS      ORD. 

worsliip  and  spiritual  edification,  is  the  divinely  insti- 
tuted sabbath.  I  say  divinely  instituted,  for  it  was 
on  the  first  day  that  Jesus,  having  risen  from  the 
dead,  appeared  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples  when  they 
were  assembled  together,  and  said,  "■  Peace  be  unto 
you."  This  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  weekly  mani- 
festations to  them  upon  that  day.  Nor  is  it  intimated 
that  he  ever  appeared  to  them  on  the  seventh  day, 
though  they  doubtless  observed  it  as  the  sabbath. 
Indeed,  no  further  notice  is  taken  of  the  seventh  day 
as  a  sabbath  in  the  Gospel,  except  to  show  that  it  is 
not  obligatory  on  Christians  to  observe  it.  The  meet- 
ing with  his  disciples  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  was 
repeated,,  no  doubt,  in  order  to  show  that  it  was  not 
by  accident,  but  designedly,  to  indicate  its  substitu- 
tion as  a  sabbath  instead  of  the  seventh  day.  And  by 
these  weekly  manifestations  the  principle  was  estab- 
lished, and  the  disciples  continued  ever  after  to  meet 
together,,  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  for  the 
worship  of  God  and  to  observe  the  institutions 
of  Christ.  Hence  also  this  day  which,  on  account  of 
Christ's  resurrection,  and  his  manifestations  thereon, 
prior  to  his  ascension,  was  called  the  Lord's  day, 
was  kept  as  a  religious  festival,  a  day  of  rest  from 
secular  business,  a  sabbath  unto-  the  Lord..  It  was  on 
this  day  that  the  Pentecost  occurred,  and  in  which  the 
disciples  being  assembled  with  one  accord  in  one 
place,  were  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  through 
the  ministrations  of  the  word,  three  thousand  were 
converted  to  God.  It  was  on  this  day  that  they 
assembled  that  they  might  show  forth  the  Lord's 
death  in  the  breaking  of  bread,  and  rejoice  together 


redemption's  working-day.  67 

in  the  hope  to  which  they  were  begotten  again  by  his 
resurrection. 

By  all  the  early  Jewish  Christians  the  seventh  day 
was  likewise  observed  according  to  the  law ;  hence 
they  kept  two  sabbaths  every  week.  I  say  two  sab- 
baths, for  the  term  sabbath  was  not  exclusively  ap- 
plied to  the  seventh  day  even  under  the  law,  though 
that  was  the  regularly- recurring  weekly  sabbath  of 
rest.  But  we  find  from  Lev.  xxiii.  24,  that  the  first 
day  of  the  seventh  month  was  a  sabbath,  and  from 
Lev.  xvi.  81,  that  the  tenth  day  of  the  same  month 
was  a  sabbath,  and  both  of  these  could  not  come  on 
the  seventh  day  of  the  week,  and  it  might  frequently 
happen  that  neither  of  them  would  occur  on  that  day. 
They  were  called  sabbaths,  because  they  were  holy 
festivals  in  which  secular  business  was  laid  aside,  and 
divine  services  performed.  All  festivals  were  so 
called,  and  they  had  not  only  other  sabbatical  days 
besides  the  seventh  day;  but  they  had  also  sabbatical 
weeks  and  sabbatical  years.  To  the  early  Jewish 
Christians,  then,  the  first  day  of  the  week  became  a 
sabbath  associated  with  their  faith  in  Christ  and  ob- 
servance of  his  ordinances.  The  seventh-day  sabbath 
was  altogether  associated  with  their  Jewish  faith  and 
observance  of  Jewish  rites  and  ceremonies.  The 
seventh  day  was  their  national  festival,  which  they 
were  not  yet  prepared  to  relinquish.  The  first  day 
was  their  Christian  festival  which  they  uniformly  ob- 
served as  a  sabbath  in  honor  of  Christ.  Such  was 
the  state  of  things  when  the  Gospel  was  first  preached 
to  the  gentiles.. 

Now  we  find  that  the  gentile  believers  in  Christ 


is  THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD. 

were  accustomed  to  meet  together  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week  for  religious  worship,  and  no  mention  is 
made  of  their  ever  meeting  together  on  the  seventh 
day.  It  was  on  the  first  day  they  regularly  assembled 
to  commemorate  Christ's  death  in  the  breaking  of 
bread,  and  for  the  ministration  of  the  word  and  other 
devotional  exercises.  It  was  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  when  the  disciples  at  Troas  came  together  to 
break  bread,  that  Paul  preached  unto  them.  He  had 
arrived  there  on  the  second  day  of  the  week,  and 
abode  with  them  seven  days,  that  he  might  have  the 
opportunity  of  spending  a  Christian  sabbath  with 
them,  and  minister  to  them  the  word  of  salvation. 
Had  they  observed  the  seventh  day  as  a  sabbath, 
doubtless  mention  would  have  been  made  of  it,  and 
Paul  might  have  preached  to  them  on  that  day,  as 
well  as  on  the  first  day.  See  Acts  xx.  6-7.  In  writ- 
ing to  the  Corinthians,  First  Epistle,  xvi.  1,  2,  Paul 
directs  them  to  put  their  contributions  for  the  poor 
saints  at  Jerusalem,  into  the  treasury  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  implying  that  they  were  accustomed  to 
meet  together  on  that  day,  which  is,  indeed,  a  fact 
beyond  dispute.  It  is  then  a  legitimate  inference  that 
the  gentiles,  on  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  were 
taught  to  observe  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the 
sabbath.  And  hence  it  has  been  regarded  and  ob- 
served as  such  from  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era. 

But  the  Jewish  Christians,  who  were  so  zealous  of 
the  law,  and  who  said  that  it  was  needful  that  the 
gentile  believers  should  be  circumcised  and  keep  the 
law  of  Moses,  sought  to  impose  upon  them  the  ob- 


69 

servance  of  the  seventli  day  also,  and  with  it  the  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  Judaism.  This  was  resolutel}"  re- 
sisted by  the  apostle  Paul  who,  in  his  letter  to  the 
Colossians  (ii.  16,)  says,  ''Let  no  man,  therefore, 
judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  a 
holy  day,  or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  sabbath." 
Here  he  classes  the  sabbath,  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week,  along  with  other  holydays  and  festivals  of  the 
Jewish  economy,  and  exhorts  believers  to  keep  free 
from  any  superstitious  regard  to  them,  as  they  were 
only  shadows  of  good  things  to  come,  of  which  Christ 
is  the  substance,  and  not  to  suffer  others  to  condemn 
them  on  account  of  not  observing  those  institutions 
of  an  obsolete  economy.  This  exhortation  is  also 
based  upon  a  premise  previously  stated,  that  Jesus  had 
''  blotted  out  the  hand- writing  of  ordinances  that  was 
against  us,  which  was  contrary  to  us,  and  took  it  out 
of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  his  cross."  Now  this  hand- 
writing was  the  Jewish  national  covenant  of  which 
the  sabbath  was  made  the  sign.  While  that  covenant 
remained,  it  was  against  the  gentiles,  who,  as  long  as 
the  trial  of  the  natural  seed  continued  and  their  cove- 
nant was  in  force,  could  be  partakers  of  the-  blessing 
of  the  promise,  only  by  becoming  proselytes  of  Ju- 
daism. But  this  hand-writing  which  was  against  us 
was  taken  away  by  the  death  of  Christ,  which  termi- 
nated the  trial  of  the  natural  seed  in  the  flesh,  and 
procured  forgiveness  of  sins  and  justification  for  all 
believers.  Hence  all  who  believe  in  him  are  justified 
by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law,  and  are  liber- 
ated from  all  obligation  to  obey  the  ritual  of  Judaism, 
or   observe  its  sabbatical   days,  months,  and   years. 


70  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LORD. 

And  so  important  was  it,  tliat  tlie  gentile  Christians 
should  stand  fast  in  this  liberty  wherewith  Christ  had 
made  them  free,  that  he  tells  the  GaUitians  (iv.  9-11,) 
that  in  consequence  of  their  observance  of  the  sacred 
festivals  of  Judaism,  in  compliance  with  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Judaizing  teacher,  he  was  afraid  of  them 
lest  he  had  bestowed  upon  them  labor  in  vain  :  for  by 
turning  from  the  Gospel  liberty  to  the  seventh-day 
sabbath  and  other  Jewish  observances,  they  plainly 
declared  that  they  were  seeking  to  be  justified  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  and  were  fallen  from  grace. 

The  apostle  did  not  interfere  with  the  Jewish 
Christians  in  their  continued  regard  for  the  seventh 
day  and  their  practice  of  other  Jewish  rites.  He  only 
withstood  the  attempt  of  the  zealots  of  law  to  impose 
that  burden  npon  the  gentiles.  The  Jew  who  believed 
in  Christ  might  deem  it  expedient  still  to  carry  the 
burden ;  but  there  was  no  propriety  in  forcing  it  upon 
the  gentiles,  seeing  "that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ." 
It  had  been  definitely  settled  at  Jerusalem,  on  the 
question  concerning  circumcision,  that  no  such  bur- 
den should  be  imposed  on  them  who  from  among  the 
gentiles  had  turned  to  God ;  and  that  Paul,  having 
been  called  of  God  to  that  special  ministry,  should  go 
to  the  gentiles  and  regulate  the  religious  institutions 
to  be  observed  by  them  according  to  the  Gospel  which 
he  had  received  of  our  Loid  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that 
the  other  apostles  should  have  the  regulation  of  the 
ordinances  and  customs  to  be  observed  by  the  circum- 
cision. Hence  in  his  letter  to  the  Komans  (xiv.  5,  6,) 
he  says,  ''One  man  (the  Jewish  Christian)  esteemeth 


71 

one  day  (the  seventh)  above  another:  another  man 
(the  gentile  Christian)  esteemeth  every  day  alike.  Let 
every  many  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.  He 
that  regardeth  the  day  (the  seventh)  regardeth  it  unto 
the  Lord ;  and  he  that  regardeth  not  the  day  (the 
seventh),  to  the  Lord  he  regardeth  it  not."  Those 
Jewish  believers  who  held  the  seventh  day  as  sacred 
and  observed  it  as  a  sabbath,  did  so  out  of  regard  to 
the  command  of  God  in  relation  to  their  national 
covenant.  It  was  far  better  that  they  should  do  so 
than  that  they  should  violate  their  conscience.  But 
the  gentiles,  with  whom  no  such  national  covenant 
was  made,  esteemed  every  day  alike,  and  hence  did 
not  attach  any  sacredness  to  the  seventh  day,  and  did 
not  observe  it  as  the  sabbath ;  feeling  satisfied  in  their 
mind  that  the  moral  precept  in  respect  to  the  sanctifi- 
cation  of  one  day  out  of  every  seven  for  religious 
purposes  and  rest  from  secular  business,  was  as  ac- 
ceptably obeyed  in  the  observance  of  the  first  day  of 
the  week  as  on  the  seventh.  And  they  observed  the 
first  instead  of  the  seventh,  out  of  regard  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  Lord  of  the  sabbath,  by  whom  the 
change  of  the  day  had  been  designated.  We  thus 
learn  that  the  command  of  the  decalogue  which  re- 
quires us  to  remember  the  sabbath  day  to  keep  it 
holy,  is  no  less  applicable  to  the  first  day  of  the  week 
or  the  Lord's  day  under  the  Christian  dispensation 
than  it  was  to  the  seventh  day  under  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation. The  apostle's  argument  being  not  against 
the  keeping  of  the  sabbath,  which  is  a  moral  precept ; 
but  in  vindication  of  the  gentile  Christians  who  ob- 
served the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  not  the  seventh, 


72  THE   SABBATH   ANT)  ITS  LOED. 

as  their  sabbath.  It  is  probable  that  the  Jewish 
Christians  observed  the  seventh  day  as  well  as  the 
first  until  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  when  the 
nationality  of  Israel  was  destroyed,  after  which  the 
seventh  day  ceased  to  be  observed  by  even  the 
Jewish  Christians,  and  the  first  day  received  the 
name  of  the  sabbath,  and  has  ever  since  continued 
to  be  observed  as  such  by  the  Christian  church. 

Thus  the  change  of  the  day  is  satisfactorily  ac- 
counted for,  and  the  reason  for  it  abundantly  suf- 
ficient. The  manner,  too,  in  which  the  change  was 
efiected  is  seen  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  Di- 
vine wisdom  and  grace,  for  the  salvation  of  the 
greatest  number  of  both  Jews  and  gentiles.  The  Jew- 
ish Christians,  as  long  as  their  temple  stood,  and 
their  nationality  lasted,  were  allowed  to  practice 
their  rites  and  observe  the  institutions  of  Judaism, 
and  many  thousands  of  them  consequently  believed 
in  Christ,  and  were  saved.  And  the  gentile  Chris- 
tians being  exempt  from  the  burdens  of  the  Jew- 
ish ritual,  the  more  readily  embraced  the  hope  set 
before  them  in  the  Gospel.  At  length  the  Jewish 
economy  vanished  away  with  its  rites  and  cere- 
monies, its  days  and  months  and  years,  and  the 
Lord's  day  or  the  first  day  of  the  week  was  alone 
retained  as  the  Christian  sabbath — a  day  of  rest  from 
secular  business — a  day  of  sacred  and  spiritual  exer- 
cises designed  to  sanctify  and  save.  It  is  there- 
fore incumbent  on  all  the  followers  of  Christ,  who 
acknowledge  him  as  Lord,  to  observe  this  day  as 
a  divine  institution.  The  profanation  of  it,  by  the 
transaction  of  -worldly  business   thereon,  is   an    im- 


redemption's  working-day.  73 

morality  according  to  the  ethics  of  the  Gospel.  The 
due  observance  of  it  is  necessary  for  the  great  work 
of  human  redemption.  The  sabbath  was  made  for 
man.  Made  to  promote  his  highest  interests  and  sub- 
limest  pleasures.  And  such  is  the  object  of  the 
Christian  sabbath ;  a  day  whose  associations  are  of 
the  most  pure  and  ennobling  nature,  and  which,  if 
observed  in  faith,  is  adapted  to  secure  the  spiritual 
enlightenment  and  moral  improvement  of  man.  As  a 
day  of  rest  merely,  it  would  not  answer  the  design  of 
its  institution.  But  it  is  not  without  its  appropriate  ser- 
vices. Its  sacred  hours  are  not  to  be  spent  in  idleness. 
It  is  redemption's  working- day,  and  to  this  great  pur- 
pose it  is  consecrated.  Christianity  is  a  system  of  re- 
ligious faith  and  practice;  one  of  the  dispensations  of 
grace  to  man,  for  whose  benefit  the. sabbath  was  made. 
This  system  has  its  religious  services,  in  which  the 
knowledge  of  salvation  is  imparted,  and  growth  in 
grace  is  secured.  Forsake  not  the  assembling  of 
yourselves  together,  is  an  exhortation  which  relates 
specially  to  their  publicly  assembling  upon  the  first 
day  of  the  week.  This  is  one  of  the  chief  uses  of 
the  sabbatk  On  it  the  people  of  God  were  wont  to 
meet  for  his  worship,  for  the  observance  of  his  ordi- 
nances, and  for  Christian  fellowship.  Our  religious 
improvement  and  edification  demand  zealous  and  re- 
gular attention  to  the  means  of  grace  instituted  in  the 
church.  Whoever  neglects  them  retards  his  progress 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord.  Yea,  he  resigns  his 
hope  of  reward  in  the  kingdom  of  God;  for  when 
the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God 
through  the  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save  them 
7 


74  THE  SABBATH   AND  ITS   LORD. 

that  believe.  The  due  observance  of  this  day  is 
pretty  correct  evidence  of  the  religious  state  of  the 
Christian.  Few  if  any  really  love  the  sabbath  and 
rest  according  to  the  commandment,  unless  they  have 
true  piety.  The  neglect  of  the  sabbath  is  the  charae- 
teristic  of  those  who  fear  not  God,  or  whose  religion 
is  sadly  declining. 

John,  the  beloved  disciple,  says,  ^'I  was  in  the 
spirit  on  the  Lord's  day."  And  this  signifies  to  us 
the  way  to  profit  by  its  holy  services  of  prayer  and 
praise  and  meditation  in  God's  word.  To  render  the 
sabbath  a  delight  and  honorable,  we  must  perform  our 
religious  duties  in  the  newness  of  the  spirit,  and  not 
in  the  oldness  of  the  letter. 

It  is  ithis  spirituality  of  worship  which  gives  it  the 
power  to  sanctify  and  bless.  The  sabbath  is  a  bless- 
ing to  them  who  .are  in  the  spirit.  In  the  early  morn 
they  hail  its  sacred  light  in  sweet  communings  with 
the  Father  of  all :  they  walk  with  him  all  day  in  the 
ordinances  of  religion ;  and  at  night,  with  hearts  over- 
flowing with  love,  they  linger  in  its  departing  shadow 
to  pour  out  their  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the  sweet 
and  heavenly  peace  its  sacred  hours  distil. 

"  The  day  that  God  hath  blessed, 
Comes  tranquilly  on  with  its  welcome  rest. 
It  speaks  of  Creation's  early  bloom  ; 
It  speaks  of  the  prince  who  burst  the  tomb. 
Then  summon  the  spirit's  exalted  powers, 
And  devote  to  heaven  the  hallowed  hours." 


CHAPTER  III. 


"  And  lie  said  unto  them,  Tlie  sabbatli  was  made  for  man,  and 
not  man  for  tlie  sabbath.  Therefore  the  Son  of  Man  is  Lord 
also  of  the  sabbath."— Mark  ii.  27,  28.. 

The  sabbath  is  the  Millennium's  symbol-day.  Known 
unto  God  are  all  his  works  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world ;  and  in  making  a  revelation  of  his  purposes  to 
man,  he  has  made  the  institutions  and  laws  of  one 
age  to  be  the  symbols  and  prophecies  of  a  succeeding 
age.  This  is  a  remarkable  and  important  feature  of 
Bible  truth,  too  commonly  overlooked.  The  Pass- 
over, while  it  was  actually  commemorative  of  the 
redemption  of  the  first-born  of  Israel  from  the  sword 
of  the  destroying  angel,  in  the  night  that  God  brought 
forth  his  people  out  of  Egypt,  was  also  designed  as  a 
symbol  of  the  redemption  of  the  Church  of  the  first- 
born, whose  names  are  written  in  heaven,  by  the 
blood  of  Christ,  our  passover,  who  was  sacrificed  for 
us.  And  the  law  that  not  a  bone  of  the  paschal 
lamb  should  be  broken,  was  designed  as  a  prediction 
that  not  a  bone  of  Christ's  body  should  be  broken  by 
the  soldiers  when  they  broke  the  legs  of  the  two 
malefactors  who  were  crucified  along  with  him.  la 
like  manner,  the  sabbath  is  not  only  commemorative 
of  the  rest  of  Jehavah  from  his  works  of  creation,. 

(7,5) 


76  THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD. 

and  sanctified  as  a  day  of  grace  to  man  in  the  economy 
of  redemption,  but  it  is  also  a  symbol  of  that  rest 
which  remaineth  unto  the  people  of  God.  It  is  hence 
termed  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come.  This  nse 
of  the  sabbath  was  supralapsarian.  It  presented  this 
symbolic  aspect  to  Adam  while  yet  in  innocency;  for 
as  he  was  then  under  a  covenant  of  works,  it  inti- 
mated to  him,  that  as  God  had  rested  from  his  works 
in  the  seventh  day,  so,  on  condition  of  his  continued 
obedience,  should  he  and  his  obedient  posterity  rest 
from  their  works  on  the  seventh  millennary  of  the 
World.  When  God  created  man,  he  made  him  to  have 
dominion  over  the  earth,  and  put  all  things  under  his 
feet.  Dominion,  however,  was  conferred  upon  him, 
not  absolutely,  but  conditionally.  Mankind  were  to 
be  multiplied — the  earth  populated,. subdued  and  gov- 
erned ;  and,  on  condition  of  continued  obedience,  he 
was  to  be  confirmed  in  holiness  and  established  in  the 
perpetual  sovereignty  of  earth ;  and  his  obedient  pos- 
terity would  in  like  manner  have  become  associated 
with  him  in  the  government.  These  works  would 
have  required  six  thousand  years,  of  which  God^s 
works  of  creation  for  six  days  was  a  symbol ;  and, 
then,  as  on  the  seventh  day,  God  rested  from  his  works, 
so  should  man  have  rested  from  his  on  the  seventh 
Millennary  of  the  world.  Hence  Paul,  in  Heb.  iv.  3, 
speaks  of  that  rest  or  Millennial,  sabbath  as  having 
being  designed  from  the  foundation,  of  the  world. 
The  preparatory  works  were  finished  in  the  symbol 
week  of  Creation,  and  the  rest  itself  introduced  in 
the  first  holy  symbol  sabbath.  This  was  the  expressive 
manner  in  which  God  was  pleased  to  declare  or  make 


77 

known  his  purpose  and  plan.  And  as  Adam  was 
created  in  the  image  of  God  in  knowledge,  he  doubtless 
was  acquainted  with  the  meaning  of  these  symbolic 
facts.  Thus,  in  the  original  constitution  of  the  world, 
the  sabbath  was  set  forth  as  a  symbol  of  that  state 
of  holiness,  happiness  and  glory,  to  which  man 
might  have  attained  by  continued  obedience  to  the 
Divine  law ;  but  of  which  he  fell  short  by  trans- 
gression, 

''Till  one  greater  man 
Restore  ns,. and  regain  tlie  blissful  seat." 

Adam,  the  first  irepresentative  man,,  failed  to  keep 
the  law,  or  to  continue  in  obedience.  He  sinned  and 
forfeited  all.  But  God's  purpose  has  not  failed,  be- 
cause Adam  failed ;  nor  has  the  symbol  sabbath  of 
creation  lost  its  signification.  The  necessity  of  divine 
interposition  was  foreseen,  and  adequate  provision 
was  determined  upon  for  the  redemption  of  man. 
Help  was  laid  on  one  mighty  to  save.  A  second 
representative  man  was  provided,  and  Christ  Jesus, 
the  Son  of  God,  will,  through  the  remedial"  system  of 
grace,  eflfect  what  Adam  failed  tO'  attain  through  the 
covenant  of  works.  Hence,  Jesus  said,  "My  Father 
worketh  hithert.o,  and  I  work."  This  was  an  answer 
to  the  cavils  of  the  Jews,  who  said  that  he  had  broken 
the  sabbath  by  healing  the  impotent  man  who  lay  by 
the  pool  of  Bethesda  waiting  for  the  moving  of  the 
waters.  It  seems  intended  to  convey  to  their  minds 
the  idea  that  from  the  fall  of  man  until  then  the 
Father  had  been  engaged  in  a  great  work — the  work 
of  human  redemption,  for  which  the  sabbath  was  aa 
7* 


7§  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOKD. 

appropriate  day,  a  day  set  apart  from  secular  business 
and  specially  devoted  thereto — and  that  his  work  was 
identically  the  same  as  that  of  the  Father's.  Indeed, 
it  was  by  him  the  Father  wrought  in  all  his  opera- 
tions, and  whatever  he  did  was  the  Father's  work,  for 
he  did  nothing  of  himself;  he  was  simply  performing 
the  work  which  the  Father  sent  him  to  do.  The 
entire  plan  was  laid  down  by  the  Father,  and  he  did 
nothing  but  what  he  saw  in  the  plan.  Hence  he  says, 
John  iv.  34,  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that 
sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work."  It  was  not  only 
admissible,  therefore,  but  absolutely  right,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  design  of  the  day,  that  he  should 
be  employed  in  doing  those  works  of  benevoleujce  and 
mercy,  which  were  not  merely  intended  to  alleviate 
human  suffering,  but  to  furnish  unquestionable  evi- 
dence of  his  mission,  and  lay  the  foundation  of  that 
faith  in  him:  which  saves  to  the  uttermost.  In  this 
day,  and  by  its  divine  services,  God  is  still  working 
with  men  and  in  men  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good 
pleasure,  while-  they,  by  faith  in  and  obedience  to  the 
Gospel,  are  actively  working  out  their  own  salvation 
with  fear  and  trembling.  Not  that  all  men  will  be 
saved  by  this  Divine  working ;  for  all  men  do  not 
believe  the  word  of  God  nor  obey  him.  Only  be- 
lievers are  thus  saved ;  "  For  this  is  the  work  of  God," 
said  Jesus,  ^'that  ye  believe  on  him  whom  he  hath 
sent."  And  faith  in  Jesus  is  productive  of  holiness 
and  salvation.  This  work  of  redemption  is  still  pro- 
gressing, and  will  occupy  the  six  millenniums  sym- 
bolized by  the  six  days  work  of  creation,  and  the 


THE  millennium's   SYMBOL-DAY.  79 

seventli  millennium  will  tlien  be  the  great  sabbath 
of  the  earth. 

The  sabbath,  as  the  Millennium's  symbol  day,  has 
been  associated  with  the  work  of  redemption  from  its 
commencement.  There  is  no  scripture  warrant  for 
supposing  that  Adam  was  ignorant  of  the  original 
constitution  of  the  world;  and  the  relations,  duties, 
and  responsibilities  belonging  to  himself  as  the  first 
representative  man.  He  was  created  in  knowledge. 
This  cannot  mean  that  he  was  created  in  ignorance. 
He  knew  all  that  it  was  important  for  him  to  know. 
And  when  he  had  transgressed  the  law,  and  involved 
himself  and  his  posterity  in  sin  and  death,  he  was 
still  fully  competent  to  understand  the  import  of  those 
terms  in  which  God  was  pleased  to  make  known  his 
glorious  purpose  of  redemption.  The  declaration  that 
the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's 
head,  could  not  have  been  the  foundation  of  faith; 
nor  could  it  have  afforded  any  comfort  of  hope,  unless 
it  were  understood.  And  if  understood,  as  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe  it  was,  then  its  bearing  upon 
the  subject  of  our  discourse  was  apprehended,  and 
hope  must  have  anticipated  that  the  six  thousand 
years  of  redemption  would  terminate  in  the  restitution 
of  all  things  and  an  everlasting  rest. 

That  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years, 
and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day,  was  not  only  under- 
stood from  the  symbolic  use  of  the  days  of  Creation, 
and  the  first  sabbath,  but  also  from  the  use  of  the 
term  day  in  the  penalty  annexed  to  the  command  that 
they  should  not  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  viz.:  "In  the  day  thou 


80  THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD, 

eatest  tliereof  thou  slialt  surely  die."  Here  tlie  term 
day  did  not  refer  to  a  natural  day  of  twenty -four 
hours ;  for  Adam  did  not  die  in  tlie  natural  or  solar 
day  in  wliicli  lie  transgressed  :  but  it  refers  to  a  mil- 
lennial day  of  a  thousand  years,  within  which  Adam 
did  die.  This  is  proved  from  the  reference  to  it  in 
the  ninetieth  Psalm :  "  Thou  turnest  man  to  destruc- 
tion, and  sayest,  Keturn  ye  children  of  men.  For  a 
thousand  years  in  thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when 
it  is  passed;  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night."  This  evi- 
dently refers  to  the  sentence  pronounced  upon  man, 
"Dust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return." 
This  is  the  sentence  by  which  man  was  turned  to 
destruction,  and  this  sentence  was  to  be  executed  in 
the  day  in  which  man  transgressed ;  that  is,  within  a 
thousand  years,  which  with  the  Lord  is  counted  as  a 
day.  In  the  antediluvian  age  there  were  probably  no 
deaths  in  infancy  and  childhood,  and  the  people  gener- 
ally lived  to  be  several  hundred  years  old.  They 
doubtless  understood  that  the  penalty  of  death,  which 
had  passed  upon  all  men  on  account  of  Adam's  sin, 
would  be  executed  within  the  period  of  a  thousand 
years.  Adam  himself  lived  nine  hundred  and  thirty 
years,  nearly  three-fifths  of  the  antediluvian  age,  and 
hence  could  instruct  his  posterity  in  relation  to  the 
original  constitution  of  the  world,  and  the  work  of 
redemption,  in  both  of  which  the  sabbath  and  its 
symbolic  signification  was  an  important  feature.  Be- 
sides, during  that  age,  the  garden  of  Eden  still  existed, 
and  the  cherub  with  the  flaming  sword  kept  the  way 
of  the  tree  of  life ;  thus  insuring  the  execution  of  the 
penalty  by  debarring  man  from  the  only  means  by 


THE    MILLEXNITJM'S   SYMBOL -I>AY.  81 

whicli  his  life  could  be  protracted.  And  the  Lord 
himself,  who  dwelt  in  the  garden,  appeared  to  his 
worshipers,  as  occasion  required,,  to  accept  the  sacri- 
fices of  faith,  and  to  administer  judgment  in  right- 
eousness, making  known  the  way  of  salvation  through 
faith  and  voluntary  obedience.  In  the  prophecy  c^ 
Enoch  (Jude  14),  we  have  evidence  that,  during  that 
age,  there  were  divine  revelations  concerning  the 
glorious  advent  of  the  Lord  to  the  earth,  and  the 
participation  of  the  saints  in  the  rest  or  sabbath  of 
redemption  which  he  will  then  introduce.  "  Behold 
the  Lord  cometh,  with  ten  thousands  of  his  saints,  to 
execute  judgment  upon  all,  and  to  convince  all  that 
are  ungodly  among  them,  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds 
which  they  have  ungodly  committed,  and  of  all  their 
hard  speeches  which  ungodly  sinners  have  spoken 
against  him."  This  prophecy  indicates  that  when  he 
comes  for  these  purposes,  his  saints,  who  shall  all 
have  been  previously  redeemed  and  glorified,  shall 
come  with  him,  and  being  constituted  associate  judges 
or  magistrates,  shall  enter  with  him  into  that  kingdom 
and  glory  then  to  be  revealed.  The  translation  of 
Enoch,  as  the  seventh  from  Adam>  wias  probably  de- 
signed to  teach  that  the  bodies  of  all  the  saints  shall 
be  changed,  that  they  may  be  fashioned  like  unto 
Christ's  most  glorious  body,  when  he  comes  to  estab- 
lish his  kingdom  in  the  seventh  millenary  of  the 
world. 

After  the  Flood,  the  kingdom  of  Melchisedek  was 
divinely  constituted  a  type  of  the  coming  kingdom 
of  heaven,  or  the  millennial  reign  of  the  Son  of  God; 
and.  the  sabbath,  as  then  observed,  was  doubtless  a 


82  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS  LOKD. 

sym"bol  of  that  rest  tlius  shadowed  forth.  In  the 
promise  to  Abraham^  farther  revelation  was  made  of 
the  Divine  purpose;  and  he,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
heirs  with  him  of  the  same  promise;  sojourned  as 
strangers  and  pilgrims  in  the  land  which  they  should, 
in  the  future,  receive  as  an  inheritance ;  and  died  in 
faith,  not  having  received  the  fulfillment  of  the  prom- 
ise ;  but  believing  in  its  certainty,  and  looking  forward 
to  a  time  when  they  shall  be  raised  from  the  dead  in 
immortal  and  glorified  bodies,  and  possess  the  land 
forever.  They  looked  for  a  city  whose  builder  and 
maker  is  God.  But  without  stopping  to  dwell  upon 
these  points  particularly,  I  invite  your  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  Jewish  people  entertained  the  expec- 
tation of  the  Millennium  long  before  the  Christian 
era.  There  was  among  them  the  tradition  of  the 
house  of  EHas,  "  That  the  world  shall  endure  six  thou- 
sand years :  two  thousand  void  of  the  law,  two  thou- 
sand under  the  law,  and  two  thousand  the  days  of  the 
Messiah ;  and  that  the  seventh  is  the  sabbath,  and  is 
the  beginning  of  the  world  to  come."  They  held  that 
the  six  thousand  years  would  correspond  with  the  six 
days  work  of  creation,  and  that  the  seventh  thousand 
would  correspond  with  the  sabbath — a  season  of  holy 
rest  and  divine  benefaction.  Hence  some  persons 
have  termed  the  millenarian  theory  a  Jewish  supersti- 
tion, as  if  every  thing  Jewish  was  to  be  repudiated. 
They  have  done  this  apparently  without  reflecting 
that  to  the  Jews  were  committed  the  sacred  oracles, 
and  that  the  Millennium  has  for  its  foundation  the 
glorious  promises  made  to  the  Fathers,  and  so  sweetly 
and  sublimely  celebrated  in  the  songs  of  the  prophet 


THE  millennium's  SYMBOL-DAY.  83 

poets.  To  the  pious  Jew  tlie  sabbath  was  not  only  a 
day  of  rest  from  toil  and  care,  but  also  a  sign  or 
symbol  of  that  latter  day  of  glory  and  blessedness 
embraced  in  the  promise  to  Abraham,  and  which  he 
saw  depicted  in  such  glowing  colors  in  the  language 
of  the  prophets.  He  contemplated  each  succeeding 
sabbath  as  a  renewed  symbol  of  the  promised  rest 
which  he  apprehended  by  faith.  Every  believing 
Jew  was  a  spiritual  man — an  Israelite  indeed — and 
to  him  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  Judaism  were  no 
more  gross  than  are  the  outward  ordinances  of  Chris- 
tianity to  the  believer  now.  "  To  the  pure  all  things 
are  pure  ;  but  to  them  that  are  defiled  and  unbelieving 
nothing  is  pure."  Noble  examples  have  we  of  those 
early  saints  who  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received 
the  promise;  God  having  reserved  some  better  thing 
for  us,  that  they,  without  us,  should  not  be  made 
perfect.  And  from  those  olden  times  we  hear  the 
chiming  of  the  symbol  sabbath  bells,  struck  by  the 
hammer  of  faith,  reverberating  among  the  hills  of 
prophecy,  and  awakening  within  us  the  hope  of  ever- 
lasting rest. 

The  future  rest  of  the  people  of  God,  or  the  Millen- 
nium, is  one  of  the  principal  topics  of  Paul's  letter  to 
the  Hebrews,  cautioning  them  against  the  like  unbe- 
lief which  excluded  their  fathers,  who  were  brought 
out  of  Egypt,  from  entering  into  the  promised  land, 
saying,  "  Let  us  therefore  fear,  lest  a  promise  being 
left  us  of  entering  into  his  rest,  any  of  you  should 
seem  to  come  short  of  it.  For  unto  us  was  the  Gos- 
pel preached  as  well  as  unto  them ;  but  the  word  did 
not  profit  them;  not  beng  mixed  with  faith  in.  them 


84  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LORD. 

that  heard  it.  For  we  whicli  believe  do  enter  into 
rest,  as  he  said,  As  I  have  sworn  in  my  wrath, 
if  they  shall  enter  into  my  rest,  although  the  works 
Were  finished  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  For 
he  spake  in  a  certain  place  of  the  seventh  day  on  this 
wise.  And  God  did  rest  the  seventh  day  from  all  his 
works.  And  in  this  place  again,  If  they  shall  enter 
into  my  rest.  Seeing  therefore  it  remaineth  that  some 
must  enter  therein,  and  they  to  whom  it  was  first 
preached  entered  not  in  because  of  unbelief;  let  us, 
therefore,  labor  to  enter  into  that  rest,  lest  any  man 
fall  after  the  same  example  of  unbelief."  In  this  pas- 
sage the  apostle  shows  that  there  is  a  promised  rest ; 
and  that  it  was  symbolized  by  God's  resting  on  the 
seventh  day  from  his  works  of  creation.  This  rest  was 
promised  to  Israel  in  the  flesh  on  condition  of  their 
keeping  the  covenant;  but  they  entered  not  in  be- 
cause of  unbelief.  The  national  covenant  was  broken, 
and  the  promise  is  confirmed  with  believers  only. 
For  we  who  believe  do  enter  in.  We  enter  in  by  faith, 
which  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for.  Or,  as  in 
scripture,  the  present  tense  is  frequently  put  for  the 
future  to  show  the  certainty  of  the  thing,  we  who  be- 
lieve shall  enter  in.  It  is  ours  by  promise  now,  and 
shall  be  ours  in  reality  hereafter.  For  this  rest  re- 
maineth unto  the  people  of  God.     It  is  yet  future. 

But,  he  continues:  ^' Again  he  limiteth  a  certain  day, 
saying  in  David,  To-day,  after  so  long  a  time ;  as  it 
is  said,  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not 
your  hearts.  For  if  Jesus  had  given  them  rest,  then 
would  he  not  afterward  have  spoken  of  another  day. 
There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest" — a  sabbatism — the 


THE   millennium's   SYMBOL-DAY.  85 

keeping  of  a  sabbath — ''unto  the  people  of  God." 
Herein  he  shows  that  the  rest  spoken  of  is  yet  future. 
It  was  indeed  preached  to  Israel  in  the  wilderness, 
but  they  entered  not  in  because  of  unbelief;  for  God 
said  that  they  should  not  enter  into  that  rest.  And 
when  he  brought  their  children  into  the  land  of 
promise,  still  they,  being  disobedient  like  their  fathers, 
were  not  brought  into  that  rest,  seeing  that  a  long 
time  afterward,  even  in  David's  time,  he  still  speaks 
of  that  rest  as  future.  Nor  did  any  generation  of 
Israel  enter  in ;  for  they  all  disobeyed  God,  and  kept 
not  his  covenant  and  polluted  his  sabbaths,  and  there- 
fore were  nationally  excluded  from  that  rest.  The 
rest  then  is  one  not  yet  possessed.  It  is  future.  It  yet 
remains  unto  the  people  of  God.  This  rest  is,  then,  the 
seventh  millenary — the  keeping  of  a  sabbath  after  the 
work  of  redemption  shall  be  finished  in  the  salva- 
tion of  the  church  of  the  first-born  whose  names  are 
written  in  heaven.  This  rest  includes  the  blessings 
of  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  and  his  seed : 
and  shall  be  given  to  all  who  believe  in  Christ  and 
keep  his  commandments.  The  seed  of  faith  shall 
enter  in :  for  if  ye  are  Christ's  then  are  ye  Abraham's 
seed  and  heirs  according  to  the  promise.  So  then 
they  that  are  of  faith  shall  be  blessed  with  faithful 
Abraham. 

"  And  he  that  hath  entered  into  his  rest,  he  also  hath 
ceased  from  his  own  works,  as  God  did  from  his." 
This  cannot  mean  that  he  ceases  from  laboring  to 
enter  in  through  the  deeds  of  the  law ;  for  that  does 
not  accord  with  the  comparison  employed  to  illustrate 
it.  We  cannot  compare  the  works  of  an  unbeliever 
8 


86  THE   SABBATH   AND  ITS    LORD. 

- — sinful  works — with  the  works  of  God.  The  passage 
is  to  be  understood  of  the  believers  actually  entering 
into  that  millennial  rest ;  for  he  will  then  have  truly 
ceased  from  all  his  work  and  labor  in  this  preparatory 
state.  The  work  of  redemption  will  then  be  finished : 
and  the  whole  redeemed  and  glorified  church  will 
enter  into  that  rest  at  once.  The  argument  of  the 
apostle  is  conclusive  in  regard  to  the  futurity  of  that 
rest ;  it  is^  He  that  hath  entered  into  his  rest  hath 
ceased  from  his  works ;  but  believers  have  not  yet 
ceased  from  their  works,  hence  they  have  not  yet 
entered  into  that  rest.  The  rest  is  yet  to  come.  Hence 
the  voice  which  the  beloved  disciple  heard  in  the  Isle 
of  Patmos,  said,  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in 
the  Lord  from  henceforth,  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works 
do  follow  them."  And  the  time  of  this  rest  is  shown 
by  the  context  to  be  when  the  one  hundred  forty  and 
four  thousand  of  Israel,  representing  the  redeemed  from 
the  earth  shall  stand  with  the  Lamb  on  Mount  Zion ; 
when,  indeed,  the  harvest  of  theearth  shall  be  reaped, 
and  all  the  saints  of  God  shall  be  glorified  with  Jesus 
Christ.  And  therefore  it  is  to  be  at  the  second 
coming  of  Christ,  at  the  end  of  the  present  dispensa- 
tion, to  establish  his  millennial  kingdom :  for  then 
shall  the  Lord  recompense  tribulation  to  the  troublers 
of  his  church,  but  rest  to  them  that  are  troubled. 

The  early  Christians  all  believed  in  this  future  rest, 
and  held  substantially  the  same  view  respecting  the 
sabbath  as  a  symbol  of  it.  Thus  Barnabas,  in  the 
first  century,  comments  upon  the  words  of  Moses: 
"  And  God  made  in  six  days  the  works  of  his  hands, 


THE   millennium's-  SYMBOL-DAY.  87 

and  he  finislied  them  on  the  seventh  day,  and  he  rested 
in  it  and  sanctified  it.  Consider,  children,  what  that 
signifies,  *  He  finished  them  in  six  days.'  This  it  sig- 
nifies, that  the  Lord  will  finish  all  things  in  six  thou- 
sand years.  For  a  day  with  him  is  a  thousand  years, 
as  he  himself  testifies,  saying,  '  Behold  this  day  shall 
be  a  thousand  years.'  Therefore,  children,  in  six  dayS; 
that  is,  in  six  thousand  years,  shall  all  things  be  con- 
summated. '  And  he  rested  the  seventh  day.'  This 
signifies  that  when  his  Son  shall  come,  and  shall  abol- 
ish the  season  of  the  wicked  one,  and  shall  judge  the 
ungodly,  and  shall  change  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and 
the  stars,  then  he  shall  rest  gloriously  in  that  seventh 
day."  Barnabas  "  was  a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  of  faith."  He  was  a  companion  of  the 
apostles.  He  first  introduced  Paul  to  Peter  and  the 
other  apostles,  and  labored  with  him  in  preaching  the 
Gospel.  His  opinion  corresponds  with  Paul's  language 
on  this  point,  and  is  entitled  to  great  weight.  His 
views  evidently  coincide  with  and  are  derived  from 
the  scriptures.  As  for  instance,  Isa.  xxx.  26,  "More- 
over, the  light  of  the  moon  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the 
sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun  shall  be  seven-fold  as 
the  light  of  seven  days,  in  the  day  that  the  Lord 
bindeth  up  the  breach  of  his  people,  and.  healeth  the 
stroke  of  their  wound."  And  xxiv.  23.,  ''Then  shall 
the  moon  be  confounded  and  the  sun  ashamed  when 
the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  reign  in  Mount  Zion.  and  in 
Jerusalem,  and  before  his  ancients  gloriously."  With 
these  predictions  he  associated  the  second  coming  of 
the  Son  of  Man  which  precedes  his  reign,  and  taught 
that  the  seventh  millenary  shall  be  the  great  sabbath 


88  THE  SABBATH   AND   ITS  LORD. 

of  the  world  in  whicli  Christ  and  his  glorified  saints 
shall  reign  over  all  the  earth. 

Justin  Martyr,  in  the  second  century,  declares  that 
the  Millenarian  Theory  was  believed  by  all  true 
Christians  in  his  day.  It  was  not  an  opinion  of  sec- 
ondary importance ;  but  a  leading  and  cardinal  doc- 
trine of  the  church.  He  admits  that  some  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  Christians  did  not  acknowledge  it ;  but 
he  says  they  were  such  as  did  not  follow  godly  and 
pure  doctrine.  "But,"  says  he,  "I,  and  as  many  as  are 
orthodox  Christians  in  all  respects,  do  acknowledge 
that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  flesh,  and  a 
residence  of  a  thousand  years  in  Jerusalem,  rebuilt, 
and  adorned,  and  enlarged,  as  the  prophets  Ezekiel, 
Isaiah  and  others  unanimously  attest."  He  quotes 
from  Isa.  Ixv.  the  promise  of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth  as  applicable  to  the  Millennium,  and  also  the 
scripture,  "  One  day  with  the  Lord  is  a  thousand 
years."  "Moreover,"  says  he,  "a  certain  man  among 
us,  whose  name  was  John,  being  one  of  the  twelve 
apostles  of  Christ,  in  that  revelation  which  was  shown 
to  him,  prophesied,  that  those  who  believe  in  Christ 
shall  live  a  thousand  years  in  the  new  Jerusalem."  He 
also  says,  "  We  may  judge  from  many  places  in  scrip- 
ture, that  those  are  in  the  right  who  say  six  thousand 
years  is  the  time  fixed  for  the  duration  of  the  present 
frame  (condition)  of  the  world."  The  allusion  here 
is  to  the  symbolic  character  of  the  six  days'  creation, 
and  the  sabbath,  as  a  divine  method  of  indicating  the 
cycles  of  redemption  and  the  sabbath  of  millennium 
blessedness. 

Cyprian,    also,    bears   a    similar    testimony.     lie 


THE   millennium's   SYMBOL-DAY.  89 

fixes  the  period  of  six  thousand  years  for  the  world^s 
age,  and  the  dissolution  of  the  present  state  of 
things,  and  speaks  of  the  seventh  millennium  as 
the  consummation  of  all,  and  the  rest  of  God^s 
people. 

Lactantius,  in  the  fourth  century,  says,  "Because 
all  the  works  of  God  were  finished  in  six  days,  it  is 
necessary  that  the  world  shall  remain  in  this  state  six 
ages,  that  is  six  thousand  years."  And  again  :  "  Be- 
cause, having  finished  the  work:s,  he  rested  on  the 
seventh  day  and  blessed  it,  it  is  necessary  that  the  end 
of  the  six  thousandth  year  all  wickedness  shall  be 
abolished  out  of  the  earth,  and  justice  shall  reign  for 
a  thousand  years."  Again:  "When  the  Son  of  God 
shall  have  destroyed  injustice,  and  shall  have  restored 
the  just  to  life,  he  shall  be  conversant  among  men  a 
thousand  years,  and  shall  rule  them  with  most  just 
government." 

Such  were  the  views  entertained  by  the  primitive 
Christians  when  "  the  style  of  Christianity  was  to 
believe,  to  do,  and  to  sufier."  In  all  their  tribulation 
and  persecutions  they  were  comforted  and  supported 
by  the  blessed  hope  of  that  rest  which  remaineth  to 
the  people  of  God.  They  understood  it  to  be  the 
Divine  purpose,  as  symbolized  by  the  six  days  of 
creation  and  the  sabbath,  to  accomplish  in  six  thou- 
sand years,  which  were  foreseen  as  necessary  thereto, 
the  redemption  of  an  elect  people  consisting  of  all  true 
believers,  to  save  and  glorify  them,  and  with  them  to 
rest  gloriously  in  the  seventh  thousand,  when  all 
wicked  governments  being  destroyed,  the  saints 
8* 


90  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOKD. 

shall   take  the  kingdom  and  possess  it  forever  and 
ever. 

The  sabbath  is  the  Millennium's  symbol -day.  The 
sabbath  in  Eden  at  the  close  of  the  six  days'  work  of 
creation  was  its  most  perfect  type.  It  was  man's  first 
day  of  holy  and  joyous  life ;  and  was  given  to  him 
as  a  symbol  of  that  everlasting  rest  in  which,  after 
six  millenaries  of  preparation  in  populating  and  sub- 
jecting the  earth,  he,  if  faithful,  and  all  his  obedient 
and  sanctified  offspring,  should  be  immortalized  and 
glorified,  and  established  in  perpetual  sovereignty  over 
the  earth.  And  when  man  had  sinned,  and  was  driven 
from  the  garden  of  Eden,  the  sabbath  was  continued 
to  him  as  a  symbol  of  the  rest  to  be  obtained  through 
faith  in  the  seed  of  the  woman,  who  shall  bruise  the 
serpent's  head,  and  at  the  close  of  six  thousand  years 
of  working  for  human  redemption,  shall,  with  his  im- 
mortalized and  glorified  saints,  establish  his  everlast- 
ing kingdom  of  righteousness  and  peace  upon  earth. 
And,  through  all  ages  and  dispensations,  and  to  the 
believing  in  every  generation,  to  Abel  and  Enoch  and 
Noah,  and  Shem  and  Abraham,  and  all  the  seed  of 
faith,  the  sabbath,  in  its  sacred  rest  from  worldly  toil, 
and  with  its  Divine  services  of  grateful,  loving  wor- 
ship, has  told  of  a  coming  day  of  blessedness  and 
glory.  The  sabbath,  as  the  prophetic  tongue  of  time^,, 
has  spoken  in  the  language  of  mercy  and  grace  to  the 
weary,  restless  pilgrims  of  earth,  bidding  them  seek, 
in  fellowship  with  the  Lord,  an  everlasting  rest,  in 
the  future  restitution  of  all  things.  During  the  trial 
of  the  natural  seed  of  Abraham,  while  it  was  a  sign 
to  them  of  a  special  covenant  which  as  a  nation  they 


THE  millennium's  SYMBOL-DAY.  91 

broke  in  every  period  of  their  trial,  and  so  failed  of 
attaining  to  the  glory  and  blessedness  it  symbolized, 
it  was  to  the  true  Israel  a  symbol  of  the  rest  remain- 
ing to  the  people  of  God  on  the  terms  of  a  better 
covenant :  and  the  pious  Jew  looked  forward  to  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah,  when  Abraham  and  all  be- 
lievers, being  raised  and  immortalized,  shall  be 
brought  into  that  rest.  And  when  the  trial  of  the 
natural  seed  was  ended,  and  for  sufficient  reasons  the 
first  day  of  the  week  superseded  the  seventh  as  the 
sabbath,  it  retained  all  its  symbolical  import,  and,  to 
the  humble  Christian,  speaks  of  the  rest  that  remaineth 
unto  the  people  of  God. 

As  the  Millennium's  symbol-day  the  sabbath  is  to 
be  highly  esteemed.  It  turns  our  thoughts  from  the 
turmoil  and  sorrow  of  the  present,  to  the  peace  and 
joy  of  the  future.  It  affords  us  time  and  opportunity 
to  hear  and  meditate  upon  the  word  of  God,  and  make 
preparation  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 
McCheyne  says :  "  When  a  believer  lays  aside  his 
pen  or  loom,  brushes  aside  his  worldly  cares,  leaving 
them  behind  him  with  his  week-day  clothes,  and 
comes  up  to  the  house  of  God,  it  is  like  the  morning 
©f  the  resurrection,  the  day  when  we  shall  come  out 
of  great  tribulation,  into  the  presence  of  God  and  the 
Lambi  When  he  sits  under  the  preached  word,  and 
hears  the  voice  of  the  Shepherd  leading  and  feeding 
his  soul,  it  reminds  him  of  the  day  when  the  Lamb 
that  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  him  and 
lead  him  to  living  fountains  of  waters.  When  he 
joins  in  the  psalm  of  praise,  it  reminds  him  of  the 
day  when  his  hands  shall  strike  the  harp  of  God"  in 


§2  THE  SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD. 

the  assembly  of  the  saints,  where  the  sabbath  has 
no  end. 

*'  Hail,  holy  day  !     The  blessing  from  above 
BHghtens  thy  presence  like  a  smile  of  love, 
Soothing,  like  oil  upon  a  troubled  sea. 
The  roughest  waves  of  human  destiny — 
Cheering  the  good,  and  to  the  poor  oppressed 
Bearing  the  promise  of  their  heavenly  rest." 

Mrs.  Hale. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  LORD  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

"  And  lie  said  unto  them,  The  aahbath  was  made  for  man, 
and  not  man  for  the  sabbath.  Therefore  the  Son  of  man  i3 
Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath."— Mark  ii.  27,  28. 

The  term  Son  of  man,  in  the  New  Testament,  is 
expressly  appropriated  to  Jesus  Clirist,  and  seems 
intended  to  intimate  his  conditional  affinity  to  our 
race,  assumed  for  the  purpose  of  redemption.  The 
incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  is  a  great  mystery :  a 
fact  in  theology  which  commands  our  faith,  although 
it  exceeds  our  comprehension.  It  is  a  prime  truth  in 
revelation,  a  foundation-stone  of  the  Christian  system. 
*'  When  the  fullness  of  time  was  come,  God  sent  forth, 
his  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  to 
redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law ;  that  we  might 
receive  the  adoption  of  sons."  This  must  be-  regarded 
as  an  essential  truth  of  revelation,  without  which  the 
Gospel  would  possess  no  power  to  save.  To  this  the 
doctrine  of  Christ  crucified  owes  all  its  moral  influ- 
ence. It  was  not,  therefore,  in  vain  curiosity  that 
Jesus  asked  his  disciples  the  question,  "  Whom  do 
men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of  Man,  am?"  But  it  was  to 
make  it  the  occasion  of  impressive  discrimination 
between  human  opinions  and  a  Divine  revelation  con- 
cerning his  nature  and  relations.     The  answer  dis- 

(93) 


94  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LOKD. 

closes  to  us  the  prevailing  liumanitarianism  of  the 
day.  "Some  say  that  thou  art  John  the  Baptist; 
some,  Elias;  and  others,  Jeremiah,  or  one  of  the 
prophets."  Nicodemus  had  said,  "  We  know  that 
thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God ;  for  no  man  can 
do  the  miracles  which  thou  doest,  except  God  be  with 
him."  But  the  highest  conception  which  the  Jewish 
people  generally  entertained  respecting  him  was,  that 
he  was  one  of  the  old  prophets  who  had  risen  from 
the  dead,  or  as  one  of  the  prophets.  Their  notions 
were  all  humanitarian,  and  were  derived  from  no 
liigher  source  than  their  own  vain  reasoning.  On  the 
contrary,  when,  in  reply  to  the  question,  "  Whom  say 
ye  that  I  am  ?"  Peter  answered,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  Jesus  pronounced  it  a 
Divine  revelation  —  an  inspired  oracle  —  saying, 
"  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon,  son  of  Jonah,  for  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father 
who  is  in  Heaven."  And  this  agrees  with  another 
declaration  of  his,  "No  man  knoweth  the  Son,  but 
the  Father."  The  humanitarian  scheme  cannot  stand 
in  the  face  of  these  declarations.  If  Jesus  were  simply 
a  human  being,  conceived  and  born  as  other  men, 
there  was  nothing  in  regard  to  his  nature  requiring 
a  special  revelation  to  make  him  known.  If  Jesus 
were  simply  a  human  being,  the  most  of  his  sayings 
in  relation,  to  himself  are  sheer  nonsense  or  blasphe- 
mous assumption.  Take  for  instance,  John  iii.  13, 
"  No  man  hath  ascended  up  into  heaven,  but  he  that 
came  down  from  heaven,  even  the  Son  of  man  who  is 
in  heaven ;"  and  John  vi.  62,  *'  What  and  if  ye  shall 
see  the  Son  of  man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before  ?" 


THE   LORD   OF   THE  SABBATH.  95 

These  passages  show  that  no  man,  no  one  of  Adam's 
race,  ever  ascended  into  heaven  that  he  should  come 
down  from  heaven,  and  hence  the  Son  of  man,  who 
came  down  from  heaven,  is  of  heaven — one  whose 
nature  and  origin  are  heavenly  and  divine.  And 
when  he  ascended  up  into  heaven,  it  was  to  return  to 
the  place  and  condition  which  he  had  previously  oc- 
cupied and  enjoyed. 

The  semi-humanitarian  scheme  is  but  little,  if  any 
better  than  the  humanitarian :  for  although  it  admits 
the  docrtine  of  the  miraculous  conception  of  Jesus, 
yet  it  maintains  that  he  was  only  a  human  being,  and 
denies  any  previous  existence  to  him  who  was  born 
of  the  Virgin.  It  holds  that  he  was  merely  a  human 
being,  supernaturally  conceived,  or  miraculously 
created,  and  first  began  to  exist  about  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  fifty-nine  years  ago.  The  only  differences 
between  the  humanitarian  and  the  semi-humanitarian 
schemes  are  these.:  The  former  rejects  the  doctrine 
of  the  miraculous  conception ;  the  latter  admits  it. 
The  former  maintains  that  God  is  but  one  person  ;  the 
latter  maintains  that  he  is  three  persons.  The  former 
believes  that  God  himself  was  in  special  union  with 
the  human  being  Jesus ;  the  latter  believes  that  only 
one  of  the  three  persons  of  the  compound  Godhead 
was  in  special  union  with  the  human  being  Jesus. 
Both  systems  agree  in  denying  the  previous  existence 
of  the  Son  of  man ;  they  deny  that  the  Son  of  man 
came  down  from  heaven ;  they  deny  that  when  the 
Son  of  man  ascended  up  into  heaven,  he  returned  to 
a  place  and  condition  he  had  previously  occupied  and 
enjoyed.     We  are  compelled,  therefore,  in  fidelity  to 


96  THE   SABBATH   AND  ITS   LORD. 

the  word  of  God,  the  revelation  which  God  has  given 
us  concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  to  reject  both 
these  systems  as  erroneous,  as  the  offspring  of  human 
speculation  and  unbelief.  Our  inquiry  is,  ''  What  saith 
the  Scriptures?"  Our  faith  must  not  stand  in  the  wis- 
dom of  men,  but  in  the  Divine  testimony ;  and, 

First.  The  Scriptures  teach  us  that  he  who  is  called  the 
Son  of  man,  is  really  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  This  was 
the  amount  of  Peter's  answer  to  the  question  of  Jesus, 
and  expressly  sanctioned  by  our  Lord  as  a  divinely 
revealed  truth,  known  only  by  inspiration  of  God. 
When  the  angel  Gabriel  announced  to  Mary  the  con- 
ception of  Jesus,  he  said,  "  The  Holy  Spirit  shall  come 
upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  over- 
shadow thee ;  therefore,  also,  that  holy  thing  which 
shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God.'' 
Luke  ii.  35.  Here  the  name  Son  of  God  is  given  to 
the  Yirgin's  child,  to  him  who  was  born  in  Bethlehem. 
At  the  Feast  of  the  Dedication,  as  Jesus  walked  in  Sol- 
omon's porch,  the  Jews  came  to  him  and  said,  "  How 
long  dost  thou  make  us  doubt?  If  thou  be  the 
Christ,  tell  us  plainly."  Jesus  answered,  "  I  told  you 
and  ye  believed  not :  the  works  that  I  do  in  my  Fa- 
ther's name,  they  bear  witness  of  me.  But  ye  believe 
not,  because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep,  as  I  said  unto 
you.  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them  and 
they  follow  me ;  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life, 
and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  pluck 
them  out  of  my  hand.  My  Father,  who  gave  them 
me,  is  greater  than  all;  and  none  is  able  to  pluck 
them  out  of  ray  Father's  hand.  I  and  my  Father  are 
one."     Then  the  Jews  took  up  stones  to  stone  him  as 


THE    LORD   OF   THE    SABBATH.  \)  i 

tliej^  said,  for  blasphemy,  because  that,  being  a  man,  he 
made  himself  God.  Jesus  answered,  "  Is  it  n6t  written 
in  your  law,  I  said,  ye  are  Gods  ?  If  he  called  them 
Gods  to  whom  the  word  of  God  came,  and  the  Scrip- 
tures cannot  be  broken,  say  ye  of  him  whom  the  Fa- 
ther hath  sanctified  and  sent  into  the  world,  Thou 
blasphemest,  because  I  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God  ? 
If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Father,  believe  me  not. 
But  if  I  do,  though  ye  believe  not  me,  believe  the 
work ;  that  ye  may  know  and  believe  that  the  Father 
is  in  me,  and  I  in  him."  John  x.  22-38.  I  have 
selected  these  passages,  because  they  prove  beyond  all 
cavil,  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God;  because  they 
have  reference  to  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  to  him  whc 
was  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  made  in 
the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  was  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man ;  because,  without  supposing  a  gross  decep- 
tion, they  cannot  be  construed  to  apply  to  any  Divine 
person  other  than  himself,  either  in  union  with  him 
or  dwelling  in  him.  The  hypothesis  that  there  were 
two  natures,  or  rather  two  persons — a  divine  person 
and  a  human  person — combined  in  the  Messiah,  and 
that  he  sometimes  spake  of  himself  and  his  relations 
in  reference  to  each  of  these  persons  separately,  or 
that  sometimes  he  spake  as  God  and  sometimes  as 
man,  is  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  reconciling  the 
incongruities  which  his  language  presents  to  the  semi- 
humanitarian  scheme.  It  is,  however,  without  any 
foundation  in  Scripture ;  not  being  as  much  as  inti- 
mated in  the  Gospels  or  the  Epistles,  but  is  contrary 
to  the  tenor  of  Christ's  teaching  and  to  the  sincerity 
and  candor  of  his  character.  The  supposition  that  he 
9 


98  THE    SABBATH  AND   ITS   LORD. 

thus  spake  witliout  apprising  his  auditors  of  such  a 
distinction,  represents  him  as  disingenuous,  as  sport- 
ing with  the  ignorance,  and  shocking  the  religious 
sense  of  the  people ;  and  robs  his  defense  of  himself 
from  the  charge  of  blasphemy  of  all  pertinence  and 
reason.  The  term  Son  of  God  is  understood  by  some 
semi-humanitarians  to  apply  to  the  Divine  person,  and 
by  others  to  the  human  person  of  the  Messiah.  The 
former  maintain  that  the  distinction  on  which  it  is 
founded  exists  essentially  in  the  Godhead ;  the  latter 
ridicule  the  idea  of  an  eternal  Son,  and  maintain  that 
the  foundation  for  it  exists  only  in  the  manhood.  The 
passages  I  have  quoted  refer  to  no  such  distinction ; 
but  simply  teach  us  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God. 
Other  passages  could  be  adduced,  but  these  are  suffi- 
cient. 

Second.  The  Scriptures  teach  that  the  Son  of  man 
existed  before  he  came  into  the  world,  and  also  before 
any  thing  was  created.  In  John  viii.  23,  it  is  recorded 
that  Jesus  said  to  the  Jews,  "  Ye  are  from  beneath ; 
I  am  from  above:  ye  are  of  this  world,  I  am  not  of 
this  world."  Again,  v.  42,  "  If  God  were  your  Father 
ye  would  love  me,  for  I  proceeded  forth  and  came 
from  God ;  neither  came  I  of  myself,  but  he  sent  me." 
And  when  they  asked  him,  v.  53,  "  Art  thou  greater 
than  our  father  Abraham,  who  is  dead?  and  the 
prophets  are  dead ;  whom  makest  thou  thyself?" 
Jesus  answered,  (vv.  54-58,)  "  If  I  honor  myself,  my 
honor  is  nothing :  it  is  my  Father  that  honoreth  me, 
of  whom  ye  say  that  he  is  your  God  ;  yet  ye  have  not 
known  bim,  but  I  know  him ;  and  if  I  should  say,  T 
know  him  not,  I  should  be  a  liar  like  unto  you :  but 


THE    LORD    OF    THE   SABBATH.  9.9 

I  know  liim  and  keep  his  saying.  Your  father  Abra- 
ham rejoiced  to  see  my  day:  and  he  saw  it,  and  was 
glad.  Then  said  the  Jews  to  him,  Thou  art  not  yet 
fifty  years  old,  and  hast  thou  seen  Abraham  ?  Jesus 
said  unto  them,  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Before 
Abraham  was,  I  am."  Again  in  his  prayer,  John 
xvii.  5,  Jesus  says,  And  now,  0  Father,  glorify  thou 
me  with  thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  that  I  had  with 
thee  before  the  world  was."  These  passages  show 
unequivocally  that  Jesus  claimed  for  himself,  as  he 
then  appeared  before  his  auditors,  a  heavenly  origin; 
that  he,  as  the  Son  of  God,  proceeded  forth  and  came 
from  God,  and  hence  that  he  existed  before  Abraham, 
yea,  before  the  world  was  made.  The  term  "pro- 
ceeded forth,"  evidently  relates  to  his  nature  as  the 
Son  of  God,  and  is  equivalent  to  the  phrase  "only 
begotten  of  the  Father :"  and  the  term  "  came  from," 
relates  to  his  mission  as  the  Messiah,  and  is  equivalent 
to  the  phrase  that  the  Father  sent  him.  No  language 
could  more  clearly  set  forth  his  pre-existence.  The 
doctrine  taught  in  these  passages  fully  accords  with 
what  the  personal  Wisdom,  or  Son  of  God,  is  repre- 
sented as  saying  in  Prov.  viii.  22-30,  "The  Lord  pos- 
sessed me  in  the  beginning  of  his  way,  before  his  works 
of  old.  I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the  be- 
ginning, or  ever  the  earth  was.  When  there  were  no 
depths  I  was  brought  forth ;  when  there  were  no  foun- 
tains abounding  with  water.  Before  the  mountains  were 
settled,  before  the  hills  was  I  brought  forth.  While 
as  yet  he  had  not  made  the  earth,  nor  the  fields,  nor 
the  highest  parts  of  the  dust  of  the  world.  When  he 
prepared  the  heavens  I  was  there ;  when  he  set  a  com- 


100  THE    SABBATH   AND   ITS   LORD. 

pass  upon  the  face  of  the  depths;  when  he  established 
the  clouds  above ;  when  he  strengthened  the  fountains 
of  the  deep ;  when  he  gave  to  the  sea  his  decree, 
that  the  waters  should  not  pass  his  commandment ; 
when  he  appointed  the  foundations  of  the  earth; 
then  I  was  by  him,  as  one  brought  up  with  him; 
and  I  was  daily  his  delight,  rejoicing  always  before 
him." 

Third.  The  Scriptures  teach  that  he  is  the  personal 
representative  of  God.  He  is  called  ''  The  image  of 
God,"  2  Cor.  iv.  4 ;  "  The  image  of  the  invisible  God," 
Col.  i.  15 ;  "  The  brightness  of  his  glory  and  the  ex- 
press image  of  his  person,"  Heb.  i.  3 ;  because  it  is  in 
him  and  by  him  that  God  manifests  himself  to  his 
creatures.  The  invisible  could  not  be  otherwise  mani- 
fested without  a  representative.  God  therefore  has 
his  image,  or  representative,  and  that  image  is  his 
Son.  ''  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  the  only- 
begotten  Son  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he 
hath  declared  him,"  John  i.  18 ;  that  is,  hath,  as  his  re- 
presentative, proclaimed  him  and  otherwise  made 
him  known.  So  in  the  first  verse,  "  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the 
Word  was  God."  I  understand  the  last  clause  to 
mean  that  the  Word  represented  God ;  as  when  Paul 
says  "  that  rock  was  Christ,"  he  means  that  rock  repre- 
sented Christ.  The  Son  of  God  is  a  necessity  of  the 
Divine  Nature — necessary  to  the  manifestation  of  the 
being,  perfections  and  personality  of  God.  As  it  is 
written,  ''  No  man  knoweth  the  Son,  but  the  Father ; 
neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Father,  but  the  Son, 
and  he  to  whom  the  Son  will  reveal  him."     Hence 


THE  LORD  OF  THE  SABBATH.        101 

Christ  is  the  "  only-begotten  Son  of  God'' — ''  the  first- 
born of  every  creature" — "  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion of  God."  And  by  him  God  is  made  known  to 
all  intelligences.  It  was  as  the  representative  of  God 
that  Jesus,  in  answer  to  Philip's  request,  "Lord,  show 
us  the  Father  and  it  sufficeth  us,"  said,  "  Have  I  been  so 
long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me, 
Philip  ?  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father, 
and  how  sayest  thou,  then.  Show  us  the  Father  ?  Be- 
lievest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father  and  the  Fa- 
ther in  me?  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  I 
speak  not  of  myself;  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in 
me,  he  doth  the  works.  Believe  me  that  I  am  in  the 
Father  and  the  Father  in  me :  or  else  believe  me  for 
the  very  works'  sake."  John  xiv.  8-11.  It  is  very 
plain  that  Jesus  did  not  mean  that  he  was  the  very 
Father  himself,  but  that  lie  represented  him ;  so  that 
to  see  him  was  to  see  the  Father.  The  Invisible  is 
thus  said  to  be  seen  in  his  representative.  The  Son 
of  man  v^as  the  representative  of  the  invisible  God, 
for  "  in  him  dwelt  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily." 

Fourth.  The  Scriptures  teach  that  by  him  God  made, 
upholds  and  governs  all  things.  Paul,  in  Eph.  iii.  9, 
says  that  "  God  created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ ;" 
and  in  Col.  i.  16,17,  "For  by  him  were  all  things 
created  that  are  in  heaven  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible 
and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones  or  dominions 
or  principalities  or  powers  ;  all  things  were  created  by 
him  and  for  him ;  and  he  is  before  all  things,  and  by 
him  all  things  consist."  And  in  Ileb.  i.  2,  he  says, 
that  "  by  him  God  made  the  worlds  ;"  or  constituted 
9* 


102  THE    SABBATH   AND   ITS    LORD. 

the  ages  or  dispensations  of  Divine  Providence  and 
grace.  Wlien,  therefore,  Jesus  said  to  the  Jews,  "  My 
Father  worketh  hitherto  and  I  work,"  he  identified 
himself  v/illi  God  in  all  his  works.  The  Jews  then 
souoht  to  kill  kim  for  thus  seemino:  to  make  himself 

o  o 

equal  with  God ;  but  Jesus  answered,  "  Yerily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  the  Son  can  do  nothing  of  himself, 
but  what  he  seeth  the  Father  do ;  for  what  things 
soever  he  doth,  those  also  doth  the  Son  likewise." 
John  V.  17,  19.  And  again :  "  For  as  the  Father  hath 
life  in  himself,  so  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have 
life  in  himself;  and  hath  given  him  authority  to  exe- 
cute judgment  also,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  Man." 
John  V.  26,  27.  Here  Jesus  disclaimed  any  and  all 
independent  action  or  operation.  He  did  nothing  of 
himself,  and  could  do  nothing  of  himself,  but  he  was 
the  medium  of  all  the  Father's  operations  in  creating, 
upholding,  and  judging  or  governing  the  world. 

Fifth.  The  Scriptures  teach  that  he  came  into  the 
world  by  incarnation,  obeyed  the  law,  suffered  for  sin, 
died  on  the  cross,  arose  from  the  dead,  and  ascended 
into  heaven,  that  he  might  effect  and  carry  on  the 
Avork  of  human  redemption.  Jesus  said  to  the  Jews, 
John  vi.  33,  ''For  the  bread  of  God  is  He  which 
Cometh  down  from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  unto 
the  world."  And,  (v.  38,)  "  For  I  came  down  from 
heaven,  not  to  do  my  own  will,  but  the  will  of  him 
that  sent  me."  The  Jews  murmured  at  him  because 
he  said,  "  I  am  the  bread  which  came  down  from 
heaven."  And  they  said,  "  Is  not  this  Jesus,  the  son 
of  Joseph,  whose  father  and  mother  we  know  ?  how 
is  it  then  that  he  saith,  I  came  down  from  heaven  ?" 


THE  LORD  OF  THE  SABBATH.        103 

Jesus  then  justified  his  saying,  that  He  was  the  bread 
of  life,  and  added,  (v.  51,)  "  I  am  the  living  bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven ;  if  a  man  eat  of  this 
bread  he  shall  live  forever ;  and  the  bread  tliat  I  will 
give  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of 
the  world."  But,  without  quoting  the  whole  passage, 
it  is  to  be  observed  from  what  I  have  quoted,  as  well 
as  the  entire  argument  in  connection,  that  Jesus  in- 
tended that  they  should  understand  that  He,  the  very 
and  identical  Son  of  man,  came  down  from  heaven ; 
and  not  that  he  had  reference  to  any  such  hypothesis 
as  that  he  had  two  natures  or  persons,  one  of  which 
was  heavenly  and  divine,  and  the  other  earthly  and 
human.  For  he  asserted  that  the  bread  which  came 
down  from  heaven  was  his  flesh  which  he  would  give 
for  the  life  of  the  world.  And  when  many  of  his  dis- 
ciples murmured,  saying,  ''This  is  a  hard  saying;  who 
can  hear  it?"  Jesus  said  to  them,  (vv.  61.  62,)  "Doth 
this  offend  you  ?  What  and  if  you  shall  see  the  Son  of 
man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before?"  Implying  that 
he  the  Son  of  man  had  existed  in  heaven,  and  had  really 
come  dovfn  from  heaven,  and  should  ascend  into  heaven 
again.  Hence  Paul  says,  "  He  that  ascended,  what  is 
it  but  that  he  also  descended  first  into  the  low^er  parts 
of  the  earth."  Now  it  was  Jesus  the  Son  of  man  who 
ascended,  it  was  therefore  Jesus  the  Son  of  man  who 
descended  first  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,  i.  e. 
became  incarnated  and  suffered  and  died.  "With  this 
agree  these  declarations  of  Jesus,  John  xvi.  28,  "I 
came  forth  from  the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the 
world  :  again  I  leave  the  world  and  go  to  the  Father ;" 
and  Matt.  xx.  28,  "  For  the  Son  of  man  is  not  come 


104  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOKD. 

to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  liis 
life  a  ransom  for  many."  And  it  is  written,  John  i. 
14,  "  And  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among 
us  (and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only 
begotten  of  the  Father),  full  of  grace  and  truth."  The 
Word  was  made  flesh,  accords  with  Christ's  own  re- 
presentation that  his  flesh  is  the  bread  of  life  which 
came  down  from  heaven,  and  that  we  can  have  eternal 
life  only  by  believing  in  the  incarnate  Word.  Paul, 
speaking  of  this  great  mystery,  says,  Tim.  iii.  16, 
"  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit, 
seen  of  angels,  preached  unto  the  gentiles,  believed 
on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory."  And  Heb. 
ii.  9,  "■  But  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned 
with  glory  and  honor."  Again,  Eom.  i.  3,  4,  "  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh,  and  declared  to  be  the  Son  of 
God  with  power,  according  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness, 
by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."  And  again,  Phil, 
ii.  6-8,  "  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it 
no  robbery  to  be  as  God ;  but  made  himself  of  no  re- 
putation, and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant, 
and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men  ;  and  being  found 
in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself  and  became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross."  It 
is  impossible  to  make  these  passages  agree  with  either 
the  humanitarian  scheme,  or  the  semi-humanitarian ; 
for  they  distinctly  show  that  he  who  came  into  the 
world  by  incarnation,  obeyed,  suffered,  died  on  the 
cross  and  rose  again,  was  the  Son  and  representative 
of  God,  who  had  previously  been   in   the   form   of 


THE  LORD  OF  THE  SABBATH.        105 

God  and,  in  that  pre-existent  state,  thouglit  it  no  rob- 
bery to  appear  as  God. 

Sixth.  The  Scriptures  teach  that  he  is  the  same  per- 
son through  all  dispensations  and  in  all  forms  or  con- 
ditions. Paul  says,  Heb.  xiii.  8,  that  "Jesus  Christ 
(is)  the  same  yesterday  and  to-day^  and  forever."  He 
is  the  same  who  was  with  God  in  the  beginning,  and 
by  whom  all  things  were  made — the  same  who  being 
in  the  form  of  God,  the  representative  of  God, 
appeared  as  God  in  all  the  theophanies  of  the 
Old  Testament  times — the  same  who,  becoming  in- 
carnate, took  on  him  the  form  of  a  servant  and  mani- 
fested God  in  the  flesh — the  same  who  now  dwells 
in  the  unapproachable  light  of  the  holiest  of  all  in 
the  heavens — the  same  who  will  come  again  the  sec- 
ond time  in  the  glory  of  the  Father.  John  says, 
"  That  which  was  from  the  beginning,  which  we  have 
heard,  which  we  have  seen-  with  our  eyes,  which  we 
have  looked  upon,  and  our  hands  have  handled  of 
the  word  of  life,  (for  the  life  was  manifested,  and  we 
have  seen  it,  and  bear  witness,,  and  show  unto  you 
that  eternal  life  which  was  with  the  Father,  and  was 
manifested  unto  us,)  that  which  we  have  seen  and 
heard,  declare  live  unto  you^  that  ye  also  may  have 
fellowship  with  us ;  and  truly  our  fellowship  is  with 
the  Father  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ."  1  John  i. 
1-3.  From  this  passage  we  learn  that  he  who  was 
heard,  and  seen  and  handled  by  the  apostles,  was  the 
same  person  who  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  It 
was  the  man  Christ  Jesus  whom  they  heard,  and 
looked  upon  and  handled,  and  the  same  was  with  the 
Father  in  the  beginning.     It  was  the  Word  that  was 


106  THE   SABBATH   AND  ITS   LORD. 

in  the  beorinnino:  with  God.  It  was  the  Word  made 
flesh,  whom  thej  heard,  saw  and  handled.  The  Jeho- 
vah of  the  Old  Testament  is  the  Jesus  of  the  New. 
Before  the  incarnation  he  appeared  in  the  form  of 
God,  afterward  in  the  form  of  a  servant.  He  who  ap- 
peared to  Isaiah  on  a  throne  high  and  lifted  up,  and 
whose  train  filled  the  temple,  is  the  same  who  took 
a  towel  and  girded  himself  and  washed  his  disciples' 
feet.  And  in  Heb.  i.  6-12,  Paul  says :  "  When  again 
he  bringeth  in  the  first-begotten  into  the  world,  he 
saith,  And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him. 
And  of  the  angels  he  saith,  Who  maketh  his  angels 
spirits,  and  his  ministers  a  flame  of  fire.  But  unto 
the  Son  he  saith.  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and 
ever ;  a  sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy 
kingdom :  thou  hast  loved  righteousness  and  hated 
iniquity :  therefore  God,  even  thy  God,  hath  anointed 
thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows.  And, 
Thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning  hast  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  earth ;  and  the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thy 
hands ;  they  shall  perish,  but  thou  remainest ;  and 
they  shall  all  wax  old,  as  doth  a  garment ;  and  as  a 
vesture  shalt  thou  fold  them  up,  and  they  shall  be 
changed :  but  thou  art  the  same  and  thy  years  shall 
not  fail."  The  Psalms  xcvii.,  xlv.  and  cii.,  from  which 
the  apostle  quotes,  all  relate  to  the  second  advent  of 
Christ,  when  again  the  Father  shall  bring  his  only  be- 
gotten into  the  world,  and  give  to  him  the  throne  of 
his  father  David,  and  establish  his  kingdom  forever, 
and  when  the  saints  are  to  be  joint  or  fellow-heirs 
with  him ;  though  he  will  be  anointed  with  the  oil  of 
gladness   above   them.     It   was    by  him  the  Father, 


THE  LOKD  OF  THE  SABBATH.        107 

created  all  things,  and  while,  for  the  redemption  of 
man,  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  change  the  phy- 
sical heavens  and  earth  by  a  flood,  and  will  be 
found  necessary  to  change  them  again  by  fire,  the  Son 
of  God,  the  one  Mediator,  remains  the  same  through 
all  changes,  and  his  years  shall  not  fail ;  neither  shall 
he  faint  nor  be  discouraged  till  he  shall  have  set  judg- 
ment in  the  earth,  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  law. 
The  heavens  and  earth  that  are  now,  like  the  heavens 
and  earth  which  were  before  the  flood,  must  be 
changed  and  pass  away,  and  give  place  to  the  new 
heavens  and  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteous- 
ness; but  he  remains  the  same.  The  same  Jesus  who 
ascended  from  Olivet  shall  come  again,  and  he  who 
was  crowned  with  the  acanthus  and  mocked  by  the 
soldiers,  will  then  wear  the  diadem  of  universal  sov- 
ereignty, and  all  things  shall  be  subdued  to  his  sway. 
He  is  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day  and  forever. 

"  As  mucli  when  in  tlie  manger  laid 
Almighty  ruler  of  the  sky, 
As  when  the  six  days'  work  he  made, 
Filled  all  the  morning  stars  with  joy." 

Seventh  The  scriptures  teach  that  he  is  Lord  of  all. 
At  his  birth  the  angels  said  to  the  shepherds,  "  Unto 
you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord."  Luke  ii.  11.  David  called 
him  Lord,  saying  '•  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  sit 
at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thy  foes  thy  footstool," 
"  Therefore,"  says  Peter,  "Let  all  the  house  of  Israel 
know  that  God  hath  made  that  same  Jesus  whom  ye 
crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ."  Acts  ii.  34-36.  "Jesus 
Christ  is  Lord  of  all."  Acts  x.  36.  "  Wherefore  God  hath 


Iu8  THE    SABBATH    AND  ITS    LOKD. 

liiglilj  exalted  him,  and  given  Mm  a  name  whicli  is 
above  every  name ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  those  in  heaven,  and  those  in 
earth,  and  those  under  the  earth,  and  that  every  tongue 
should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory 
of  God  the  Father."  Phil.  ii.  9-11.  "The  second  man 
is  the  Lord  from  heaven."  1  Cor.  xv.  47.  From  these 
passages  and  their  connection,  as  well  as  other  scrip- 
tures, we  learn  that  he  who  was  born  of  the  Virgin, 
who  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  who  was  cru- 
cified, who  rose  from  the  dead,  ascended  into  heaven, 
sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high, 
and  shall  come  again  at  the  last  day,  is  Lord  of  all. 
And  there  is  no  other  Lord  but  Jesus  Christ,  as  there 
is  no  other  God  but  the  Father :  "  For  though  there 
be  that  are  called  gods,  whether  in  heaven  or  in 
earth  (as  there  be  Gods  many  and  Lords  many ;)  But 
to  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are 
all  things,  and  we  in  him ;  and  one  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  by  him."  1  Cor. 
viii.  5,  6. 

The  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of  the  sabbath.  He 
is  the  Christ  the  Son  of  the  living  God ;  who  dwelt 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  before  the  world  was,  and 
by  whom  God  constituted  the  ages  or  dispensations. 
He  was  then  the  Lord  of  the  sabbath  at  its  original 
institution  ;  for  as  God  created  all  things  by  Jesus 
Christ,  it  was  he  of  whom  it  is  predicated,  "  For  in  six 
days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  on  the 
seventh  day  he  rested  and  was  refreshed,"  Exod.  xxxi. 
17,  language  which  could  not  apply  to  the  self  exist- 
ent and  unchangeable  God,  who  fainteth  not  neither  is 


THE  LORD  OF  THE  SABBATH.        109 

weary.  But  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  representative  of 
God,  and  by  whom  he  made  all  things,  and  in  whom 
God  may  be  said  to  have  rested  on  the  seventh  day, 
rested  then  from  the  work  of  creation,  and  sanctified 
the  sabbath  as  creation's  holyday,  and  gave  it  to  man 
in  his  primitive  state  of  innocence  as  a  day  of  rest 
from  labor — a  day  of  religious  service — a  day  of 
spiritual  improvement— a  day  of  glorious  anticipation 
of  perfect  blessedness.  The  Lord  Jesus  made  man, 
and  he  made  the  sabbath  for  man.  The  day  and  its 
use  were  designated  by  him,  and  he  has  the  absolute 
control  of  it.     He  is  Lord  of  the  sabbath. 

After  the  fall  of  man,  when  it  became  necessary  that 
the  Son  of  God  should,  in  some  period  of  the  work  of 
redemption,  assume  a  conditional  affinity  to  our  race, 
indicated  by  the  declaration  that  the  seed  of  the  wo- 
man should  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  he  was  still,  as 
before,  the  Lord  of  the  sabbath,  and  in  perpetuating 
the  institution,  as  redemption's  working-day,  had  the 
right  to  determine  the  time  and  manner  of  its  ob- 
servance under  all  the  dispensations  of  grace,  as  well 
as  the  authority  to  enjoin  it  upon  all  the  children  of 
Adam. 

The  Son  of  man  was  therefore  Lord  of  the  sabbath 
before  the  law,  and  it  was,  doubtless,  by  his  command- 
ment appropriated  to  a  religious  use.  It  is  said  that 
at  the  END  OF  DAYS  Cain  and  Abel  brought  their 
ofierings  to  the  Lord.  No  other  time  could  be  appro- 
priately termed  the  end  of  days  but  the  sabbath,  which 
being  the  seventh  was  the  end  of  the  week.  Sacri- 
fices were  no  doubt  required  to  be  offered  on  that 
day  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  Abel  brought  of  the 
10 


110  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS  LORD. 

firstlings  of  his  flock  and  of  the  fat  thereof,  thus  show- 
ing his  faith  in  the  great  sin-offering  of  which  this 
sacrifice  was  a  type.  Cain's  offering  showed  his  want 
of  faith.  Sacrifices  continued  to  be  offered  by  the 
faithful  through  the  antediluvian  age,  and  the  first 
thing  done  by  Noah  after  the  flood  was  to  offer  sacri- 
fice to  God.  These  sacrifices  were  then,  as  well  as  sub- 
sequently, without  doubt,  associated  with  times  and 
seasons.  And  Melchisedek,  the  priest  of  the  most 
High  God,  and  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  their 
posterity,  must  have  known  the  Divine  appointment 
of  the  seventh  day,  and  observed  it  accordingly.  We 
have  indeed  no  specific  account  of  its  observance; 
but  we  must  not  thence  infer  that  it  was  not  observed ; 
for  the  Son  of  man  who  said,  "  Before  Abraham  was 
I  am,"  and  "  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my  day,  and  he 
saw  it  and  was  glad,"  was  then  the  Lord  of  the  Sab- 
bath which  was  a  type  of  that  Day  of  the  Lord  to 
which  Abraham  also  by  faith  looked  forward.  Christ's 
day  has  been  from  the  beginning  set  forth  by  its  ap- 
propriate symbol,  weekly  recurring  to  cheer  the  heirs 
of  promise.  And  in  the  observance  of  the  sabbath 
they  have  expressed  their  faith,  walked  with  God, 
and  become  heirs  of  eternal  life. 

The  Son  of  man  was  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  under  the 
Law.  It  was  he  who  was  with  the  congregation  in 
the  wilderness.  He  made  the  Sabbath  the  sign  of 
the  national  covenant  between  them  and  himself,  and 
commanded  it  to  be  kept  as  a  test  of  their  obedience 
— a  ground  of  their  justification  and  a  means  of  their 
sanctification.  He  it  Avas  who  from  Sinai  spake  the 
word  of  the  law,  and  said  "  Eemember   the  sabbath 


THE  LORD  OF  THE  SABBATH.        Ill 

day  to  keep  it  lioly."  lie  gave  to  Moses  all  tlie 
special  enactments  concerning  its  observance  as  the 
sign  of  their  covenant.  He  renewed  his  covenant 
with  them  in  all  their  generations,  sending  his 
prophets  to  them,  rising  up  early  and  sending  them, 
but  they  would  not  hear.  And  at  last  he  came  him- 
self in  the  flesh,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the 
law,  and  obeyed  the  law  ;  but  they  despised  him  and 
rejected  him.  And  the  sabbath,  as  a  sign  of  their 
national  covenant,  was  abrogated  when  he  lay  in  the 
sepulchre,  the  crucified  one.  In  breaking  that  cove- 
nant, in  all  their  generations,  they  made  it  manifest 
that  no  nation  in  natural  flesh  could  be  trained  for 
the  kingdom  of  God,  or  prepared  for  the  enjoyment 
of  the  glory  and  blessedness  of  the  millennial  sab- 
bath. Hence  the  natural  seed  were  as  a  nation 
rejected — their  covenant  abolished,  and  its  sign,  so 
far  as  respected  that  specific  day,  in  its  aspect  to  the 
nation,  abrogated.  The  Jewish  people  are  now  with- 
out a  sabbath.  The  Lord  of  the  sabbath  having 
abrogated  the  sign,  and  their  house  is  left  unto  them 
desolate. 

The  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of  the  sabbath 
under  the  Gospel.  In  the  end  of  the  Jewish  sabbath, 
as  it  began  to  dawn  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  he 
rose  from  the  dead,  introducing  a  new  order  of  things, 
and  consecrating  that  day  as  the  time  of  the  observ- 
ance of  religious  worship  during  the  new  dispensa- 
tion of  grace  to  man.  It  was  indeed  the  end  of  the 
Jewish  sabbath,  terminating  with  it  the  hope  of  the 
natural  seed  by  the  abrogation  of  the  sign  of  the 
national  covenant.     It  was  the  beginning  of  the  sab- 


112  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LOKD, 

bath  of  a  new  dispensation  in  whicli  we  are  begotten 
again  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.  The  use  of  the 
sabbath  as  a  sign  of  a  national  covenant  and  test 
of  obedience,  ended  when  the  trial  of  the  natural 
seed  ended.  The  Lord  of  the  sabbath  has  therefore 
dispensed  with  the  observance  of  the  seventh  day 
because  of  its  special  appropriation  under  the  law, 
as  the  sign  of  the  national  covenant,  now  abrogated, 
and  its  legal  use  as  a  test  of  obedience.  There  is  now 
no  national  covenant  under  the  Gospel.  The  Gospel 
is  not  a  national  system  for  the  trial  of  any  nation 
in  natural  flesh.  All  nations  were  tried  in  Israel 
as  the  representative  nation,  and  all  have  been  re- 
jected in  Israel.  And  the  natural  Jew  is,  wherever 
found  in  all  the  world,  a  living  testimony  that  by  the 
deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  living  can  be  justified. 
The  Gospel  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  system  of  uni- 
versal grace  to  be  preached  among  all  nations  for 
the  obedience  of  faith,  and  the  sanctification  of  all 
believers,  who,  with  the  saints  of  former  ages,  shall 
constitute  the  seed  of  faith— a  holy  nation — a  royal 
priesthood — a  peculiar  people,  and  be  heirs  of  the 
promised  inheritance. 

In  designating  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the 
sabbath  under  the  Gospel,  the  Lord  of  the  sabbath 
has  not  made  it  the  sign  of  the  covenant  with  the  seed 
of  faith,  nor  made  it  the  special  test  of  obedience :  for 
he  has  not  required  the  observance  of  days  with  their 
special  religious  institutions  as  the  condition  of  justi- 
fication. The  seed  of  faith  have  in  all  ages  been  jus- 
tified by  faith  and  not  by  the  deeds  of  the  law.  Hence 


THE  LORD  OF  THE  SABBATH.        113 

the  observance  of  the  sabbatli  is  nowhere  enjoined  as 
a  condition  of  justification  before  the  law,  nor  under 
the  Gospel ;  and  only  required  as  such  nationally  un- 
der the  law,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  no  flesh 
living  could  be  justified  by  the  law.  And  none  of 
Israel  were  justified  during  their  national  trial ;  but 
those  who  believed,  and  who  served  in  the  newness 
of  the  spirit  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter.  But 
the  obligations  to  observe  the  sabbath  under  the  Gos- 
pel are  not  weakened.  Faith  does  not  make  void  the 
law  of  God :  it  establishes  the  law.  The  believer  is 
furnished  with  a  motive  power  and  a  spiritual  energy 
by  which  he  is  enabled  to  keep  the  law,  and  so  walk 
worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  he  is  called.  The 
first  day  of  the  week  is  rendered  sacred  to  him  by  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  and  has  all  the  sanction  of  the 
authority  of  Christ  for  its  observance  as  the  sabbath. 
The  Lord  of  the  sabbath  has  placed  its  due  observance 
among  the  moral  obligations  of  all  to  whom  the  Gospel 
is  preached.  The  Gospel  knows  no  other  sabbath  but 
it,  and  no  other  Lord  of  the  sabbath  but  the  Son  of 
man. 

The  Son  of  man  is  Lord  of  the  Millennial  sabbath. 
Paul  says,  "  For  unto  the  angels  hath  he  not  put  in 
subjection  the  world  to  come  of  which  we  speak ;  but 
one  in  a  certain  place  testified,  saying,  "  What  is  man 
that  thou  art  mindful  of  him ;  and  the  Son  of  man 
that  thou  visitest  him.  Thou  madest  him  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels :  thou  crownedst  him  with  glory 
and  honor,  and  didst  set  him  over  the  work  of  thy 
hands :  Thou  hast  put  all  things  in  subjection  under 
his  feet.  For  in  that  he  put  all  in  subjection  under 
10* 


114  THE   SABBATH    AND   ITS    LORD. 

him,  lie  left  notliing  that  is  not  put  under  him.  But 
now  we  see  not  all  things  put  under  him.  But  we 
see  JesuS;  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels 
for  the  sufferings  of  death,  crowned  with  glory  and 
honor;  that  he,  by  the  grace  of  God,  should  taste 
death  for  every  man.  Heb.  ii.  5-9.  The  honor  and 
dignity  with  which  the  first  representative  man  was 
created  and  the  dominion  given  to  him,  is  here  con- 
sidered as  having  been  transferred  to  the  second  re- 
presentative man,  under  whom,  however,  we  see  not 
yet  all  things  subjected.  But  in  the  world  to  come, 
that  is  in  the  Millennium,  the  great  Day  of  the  Lord, 
all  things  shall  be  put  under  him.  Then  shall  he, 
who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the 
suffering  of  death,  be  exalted  in  glory,  and  reign 
over  all  the  earth.  Then  shall  the  second  Adam  take 
the  dominion  forfeited  by  the  first  Adam.  Then  shall 
the  Church  of  God,  the  second  Eve,  be  exalted  with 
Christ,  and  made  partaker  of  his  glory.  To  the  Di- 
vine Adam  and  his  redeemed  and  glorified  consort 
will  all  things  be  put  in  subjection ;  and  every  knee 
shall  bow  to  him,  and  every  tongue  confess  that  he  is 
Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father. 

Isaiah,  in  the  second  chapter  of  his  prophecy,  speak- 
ing of  that  period  when  the  Lord's  house  shall  be 
established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  exalted 
above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it; 
when  he  shall  judge  among  the  nations,  and  the  sub- 
jects of  his  government  shall  beat  their  swords  into 
plowshares  and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks,  (says 
V.  11,)  that  "  the  Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that 
day."    And   Zechariah  says,   ''Then  the  Lord  shall 


THE  LORD  OF  THE  SABBATH.        115 

be  king  over  all  the  earth ;  there  shall  be  one  Lord 
and  his  name  one."  Zech.  xiv.  9.  Then  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  in 
Mount  Zion  and  in  Jerusalem,  and  before  his  ancients 
gloriously. 

'*  Come,  then,  and  added  to  thy  many  crowns, 
Receive  yet  one,  the  crown  of  all  the  earth, 
Thou  who  alone  art  worthy  !     It  was  thine 
By  ancient  covenant,  ere  Nature's  birth  ; 
And  thou  hast  made  it  thine  by  purchase  since. 
And  overpaid  its  value  with  thy  blood. 
Thy  saints  proclaim  thee  king  ;  and  in  their  hearts 
Thy  title  is  engraven  with  a  pen 
Dipped  in  the  fountain  of  eternal  love. 
*  *  *  «•  *  *  * 

Come,  then,  and  added  to  thy  many  crowns, 
Receive  yet  one,  as  radiant  as  the  rest. 
Due  to  thy  last  and  most  effectual  work, 
Thy  word  fulfilled,  the  conquest  of  a  warld." 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE  OBSEKVANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

"  And  he  said  unto  them,  The  sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and 
not  man  for  the  sabbath.  Therefore  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord 
also  of  the  sabbath." — Mark  ii.  27,  28. 

In"  regard  to  the  observance  of  the  sabbath  we  have 
to  guard  against  two  fatal  errors :  the  one,  that  of  sub- 
jecting man  to  the  sabbath,  so  as  to  make  him  the 
driveling  slave  of  an  arbitrary  institution,  and  thus 
sacrificing  human  welfare  to  its  sanctification :  the 
other,  that  of  subjecting  the  sabbath  to  man,  so  as  to 
allow  him  to  appropriate  it  to  whatever  use  he  pleases 
without  regard  to  its  sanctification.  Man  was  not 
made  for  the  sabbath :  his  comfort  and  happiness  are 
not  of  secondary  importance  to  the  sanctification  of 
the  day.  The  sabbath  is  not  an  end  to  be  placed  above 
the  necessities  of  humanity ;  but  a  means  designed  for 
the  spiritual  benefit  of  mankind.  Such  an  observance 
of  the  sabbath  as  shrouds  its  atmosphere  with  gloom, 
and  renders  its  services  irksome  and  oppressive; 
which  clothes  the  soul  with  a  starched  and  unbending 
austerity ;  which  encases  the  spirit  in  an  icy  formality ; 
which  oppresses  the  conscience  with  numberless  rigid 
exactions ;  which  restrains  every  gladsome  emotion 
of  the  mind  by  a  wearisome  scrupulousness ;  which 
despoils  the  heart  of  every  natural  joy,  and  renders 
(116) 


•      THE    OBSEKVANCE   OF  THE   SABBATH.  117 

religion  itself  an  intolerable  burden,  is  a  burlesque 
upon  the  institution,  and  a  mere  bugbear  to  children. 
The  soul  in  such  a  thraldom  finds  nothing  joyous  or 
elevating  in  private  devotion,  fkmily  worship,  or 
church  ordinances.  The  whole  affair  becomes  a  tire- 
some drudgery,  in  which  the  unwilling  Pharisee  forces 
himself  to  dole  out  with  scrupulous  exactness  the  sanc- 
timonious services  whereby  he  expects  to  purchase  a 
seat  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  were  better  that 
the  sabbath  should  be  dispensed  with  altogether,  than 
that  such  a  slavish  burden  should  be  imposed  upon 
the  people  of  God.  A  more  unsightly  appendage  to 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  could  scarcely  be  conceived; 
and  yet  there  are  some  who  seem  to  have  no  higher 
conception  of  the  sabbath  than  this,  and  who  make 
it  a  grievous  burden,  by  the  demureness  of  con- 
straint imposed  in  a  strictly  legal  observance  of  the 
day. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  the  sabbath  was  made  for 
man,  must  not  be  construed  so  as  to  sanction  a  dese- 
cration of  the  day,  and  allow  every  one  to  do  what- 
ever he  pleases  in  appropriating  its  sacred  hours  to 
indolence,  business  or  pleasure.  The  sabbath  is  not 
to  be  subject  to  man's  whim  or  caprice.  It  is  not  left 
to  his  option  whether  he  shall  keep  it  or  not :  the 
command  is,  ''  Eemember  the  sabbath  day  to  keep  it 
holy."  He  is  forbidden  to  work  or  play— to  seek  his 
carnal  pleasure  or  his  worldly  gain.  It  is  not  a  matter 
of  indifference  whether  it  be  kept  holy,  or  spent  in 
utter  disregard  to  its  sanctification.  The  sabbath  is 
an  institution — a  divine  institution — and  was  made  for 
man's  use  according  to  ite  nature  and  design,  and  not 


118  THE   SABBATH   AND  ITS   LORD. 

for  his  abuse  according  to  his  own  will  or  inclination. 
The  sabbath  was  made  for  man's  spiritual  improve- 
ment, and  this  required  that  he  should  cease  from 
business  and  labor.  It  was  made  for  man's  spiritual 
improvement,  hence  it  must  not  be  spent  in  listless 
indolence  or  in  pursuit  of  carnal  pleasures.  To  lounge 
about  home,  or  rove  through  the  streets  and  fields,  or 
make  railroad  or  steamboat  excursions,  or  take  a 
drive  into  the  country,  for  amusement  and  recreation, 
is  an  abuse  of  the  sabbath.  By  these  and  similar 
means  of  pleasure-seeking,  some  diversion  of  mind 
from  the  ordinary  business  and  cares  of  life  may  be 
obtained,  but  no  true  refreshment  to  the  soul  is 
found,  and  the  end  and  design  of  the  institution  is 
lost. 

The  sabbath  was  made  for  man — for  his  spiritual 
benefit.  In  his  original  state  of  innocency  it  was  de- 
signed to  furnish  him  with  leisure  from  worldly  and 
secular  concerns,  for  intellectual  and  moral  improve- 
ment ;  and  had  he  not  sinned  it  would,  doubtless, 
have  been  employed  in  purely  spiritual  exercises  to 
that  end,  as  there  would  then  have  been  no  occasion 
for  the  diversion  of  any  part  of  its  sacred  time  to 
other  purposes.  What  the  first  Eden  sabbath  was  to 
man,  it  would  have  continued  to  be,  until  all  should 
have  been  perfected  in  holiness,  established  in  virtue, 
and  exalted  to  the  enjoyment  of  an  endless  rest — a 
sabbath  of  unceasing  pleasure  in  the  presence  of  God. 
And  a  Millennium  of  glory  would  have  crowned  the 
obedience  of  man  with  an  everlasting  reward. 

The  fall  of  man  by  sin,  rendered  necessary  a  change 
in  his  condition  so  as  to  ensure  the  execution  of  the 


THE    OBSERVANCE    OF    THE    SABBATH.  119 

penalty  of  transgression;  and  man  was  expelled  from 
the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  debarred  from  the  tree  of  life, 
that  having  no  access  to  it  as  the  appointed  means  of 
health,  he  should,  through  disease  and  the  decline  of  his 
natural  powers,  be  brought  down  to  death  within  a, 
thousand  years,  which  with  the  Lord  is  as  one  day,  and 
was  indicated  in  the  words,  '*  In  the  day  thou  eatest 
thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."  The  deterioration  of 
the  physical  condition  of  man  was  then,  however,  no 
greater  than  was  necessary  to  effect  the  execution  of 
the  penalty,  and  his  circumstances  were  such  that  the 
least  possible  interference  with  the  regular  observance 
of  the  sabbath  could  occur.  It  was  possible  for  man, 
in  the  antediluvian  age,  to  have  observed  the  sabbath 
in  almost  its  Eden  perfection.  Still,  occasions  doubt- 
less arose  when,  for  works  of  mercy  and  necessity, 
the  rest  of  the  sabbath  might  have  been  innocently 
broken. 

But,  further,  when  it  had  been  demonstrated,  by 
the  actual  results  of  the  ante-diluvian  age,  that  the 
physical  condition  of  the  world  was  too  good  for 
man's  moral  benefit,  another  change  was  required  to* 
adapt  it  to  the  purposes  of  redemption.  Man  needed 
a  severer  discipline,  and  by  the  deluge  such  a  change 
was  effected  as  was  demanded.  The  life  of  man  was 
shortened ;  he  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  and  his 
circumstances  became  such  as  frequently  to  render  it 
necessary  to  violate  the  rest  of  the  sabbath,  or  sacri- 
fice his  comfort  and  well-being.  The  example  and 
teachings  of  Christ,  the  Lord  of  the  sabbath,  have  a 
special  bearing  upon  this  point. 

On  one  occasion,  as  Jesus  passed  through  the  fields 


120  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOED. 

on  tlie  sabbatli  day,  his  disciples,  being  hungry,  began 
to  pluck  the  ears  of  corn,  and  to  eat  the  grain,  which 
they  shelled  by  rubbing  them  in  their  hands.  Against 
this  the  Pharisees  demurred  as  a  violation  of  the  sab- 
bath. Bat  Jesus  justified  his  disciples  by  reference  to 
the  case  of  David  and  his  men,  who,  when  hungry, 
went  into  the  house  of  God  and  ate  of  the  shew-bread 
which  the  priest  only  might  do  lawfully.  Their  ne- 
cessity, at  the  time,  justified  the  common  use  of  the 
sanctified  bread;  and  so  human  necessity  justifies  the 
common  use  of  a  holy  day.  A  work  of  necessity  may 
be  performed  on  the  sabbath.  Man  may  have  need 
of  food  or  medicine,  or  medical  attendance  and  nurs- 
ing— indeed,  he  may  be  subject  to  various  necessities, 
coming  on  him  in  the  order  of  nature  and  providence, 
which  may  be  supplied  on  the  sabbath  day  as  far  as 
he  may  have  means  and  opportunity  of  doing  so, 
although  in  so  doing  he  may  be  obliged  to  violate 
the  sanctity  thereof. 

Again,  Jesus  said  to  them,  "Have  ye  not  read  ip 
the  law,  how  that  on  the  sabbath  days,  the  priests  in 
•the  temple  profane  the  sabbath,  and  are  blameless? 
But  I  say  unto  you,  that  in  this  place  is  one  greater 
than  the  temple."  To  profane  the  sabbath  was  to  work 
on  the  sabbath.  Now  in  man's  primitive  condition 
the  services  of  religion  consisted  in  only  devout  med- 
itation and  grateful  praise,  and  sweet  and  holy  com- 
muning with  God,  There  were  no  sacrificial  offerings 
needed,  and  no  ritual  observances  of  a  laborious  char- 
acter; but  since  the  fall  of  man,  the  services  of  reli- 
gion have  been  adapted  to  the  great  purpose  of 
redemption,  and  in  all  ages  of  the  world  the  , ministers 


THE  OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH.      121 

of  religion  have  had  sacrifices  to  offer,  or  other  ser- 
vices to  perform  requiring  more  or  less  labor,  hence 
they  have  been  obliged,  in  the  discharge  of  their  func- 
tions, to  violate  the  rest  of  the  sabbath.  And  such 
violation  is  pronounced  blameless  by  the  Lord  of  the 
sabbath,  who,  in  the  economy  of  his  mercy,  has  con- 
stituted the  sabbath  redemption's  working-day.  The 
religious  character  of  the  services  performed  by  the 
priests  in  the  temple  justified  their  profanation  of  the 
day.  Their  work  was  essential  to  the  end  for  which 
the  day  was  made  and  the  temple  was  built.  But 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  God  himself,  the  Lord  of  the  sab- 
bath, being  greater  than  the  temple,  was  there,  and  by 
his  example  and  teaching  justified  all  works  of  bene- 
volence and  mercy  in  the  service  of  humanity.  This 
doctrine  of  Christ  especially  justified  all  labor  or  work 
necessarily  associated  with  the  services  of  religion. 
Religious  works  may  be  performed  on  the  sabbath 
day.  These  works  are  designed  to  promote  man's  spir- 
itual improvement,  and  hence  accord  with  the  design 
of  the  institution.  Under  the  economy  of  redemption 
they  are  necessary  to  a  profitable  keeping  of  the  sab- 
bath. In  this  category,  we  may  also  place  the  work  of 
sabbath-school  teaching,  which,  properly  conducted,  is 
a  religious  work,  calculated  greatly  to  promote  the 
spiritual  improvement  of  the  young,  and  implant  in 
their  minds  the  seed  of  faith. 

Again,  Jesus  said  unto  them,  ''If  ye  had  known 
what  this  meaneth,  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacri- 
fice, ye  would  not  have  condemned  the  guiltless.  For 
the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of  the  sabbath  day."  Paul 
says  that  man  was  "  made  subject  to  vanity,"  to  a  severe 
11 


122  THE   SABBATH   AND  ITS   LORD. 

providential  discipline,  whicli  has  aggravated  his  help- 
lessness and  misery  and  shortened  his  days,  "not 
willingly,"  not  arbitrarily  or  -annecessarily,  "but  by 
reason  of  him  who  hath  subjected  the  same  in  hope ;" 
it  being  a  means  adopted  in  divine  wisdom  for  the  re- 
demption of  man.  In  like  manner,  sacrifices  and  oiBTer- 
ings  were  ordained  of  God,  not  because  he  had  any 
pleasure  in  them,  but  as  a  provision  of  mercy  for  hu- 
man salvation.  And  so  the  sabbath  was  instituted, 
not  for  the  sake  of  the  day  itself,  but  for  man's  bene- 
fit, to  secure  him  time  for  the  advancement  of  his 
spiritual  interests.  And  as  man's  salvation  is  the  end 
and  design  of  all  these  institutions,  they  are  to  be 
strictly  observed  in  accordance  with  that  end,  as  far 
as  practicable ;  but  when  their  observance  would  re- 
quire a  sacrifice  of  human  welfare,  or  interfere  with 
the  preservation  of  life  and  property,  it  may  be  dis- 
pensed with.  The  necessities  of  mankind  are  para- 
mount to  all  ceremonial  institutions,  sacrificial  rites 
and  holy  days.  The  Priest  and  Levite  who  passed  by 
the  half-murdered  man  on  the  road  from  Jerusalem  to 
Jericho,  without  rendering  him  assistance  lest  they 
should  be  ceremonially  defiled,  were  recreant  to  the 
claims  of  humanity  and  violated  the  higher  law, 
"  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself"  A 
Jew,  in  London,  many  years  ago,  having  fallen  into 
a  sewer  on  the  seventh  day,  refused  to  be  lifted  out 
because  it  was  his  sabbath.  This  being  reported  to 
the  king,  his  majesty  ordered  that,  since  the  Jew 
would  not  be  lifted  out  on  the  seventh  day,  lest  he 
should  break  his  sabbath,  he  should  not  be  lifted  out 
on  the  first  day,  but  should  be  compelled  to  observe 


THE  OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH.  128 

the  Christian  sabbath  in  like  manner :  or  that  none 
should  break  the  Christian  sabbath  by  lifting  him 
out.  Before  Monday  morning,  however,  the  Jew  died 
from  hunger  and  exposure  in  so  foul  a  place.  In 
this  case,  while  we  pity  the  poor  Jew  on  account  of 
his  superstition,  we  cannot  but  censure  the  king  on 
account  of  his  inhumanity.  Both  were  wrong ;  but 
the  king's  wrong  was  the  worst.  God  says,  '■'  I  will 
have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice."  And  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  took  our  condition,  and  learned  by  actual 
subjection  to  our  infirmities  and  trials,  the  necessities 
and  sorrows  of  our  fallen  state,  that  he  might  know 
how  to  sympathize  with  us  in  our  weakness  and  wo; 
and,  as  the  Lord  of  the  sabbath,  he  says,  in  this  con- 
nection, "  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice."  He 
has  therefore  adapted  the  sabbath  to  the  condition  of 
man,  that  its  observance  should  not  be  a  grievous 
bondage,  a  slavish  and  oppressive  tyranny ;  but  that 
it  should  be  a  delightful  antepast  of  an  eternal  rest  of 
love  and  joy. 

In  accordance  with  this  saying,  "  I  will  have  mercy 
and  not  sacrifice,"  Jesus  performed  many  of  his  won- 
drous cures  on  the  sabbath  day.  A  man  with  a 
withered  hand  had  gone  to  the  synagogue  to  worship 
on  the  sabbath.  Jesus  met  him  there.  The  Jews 
watched  to  see  whether  he  would  heal  him.  Perhaps 
they  thought  that  he  would  do  so  secretly.  But  Jesus 
said  to  the  man,  "  Stand  forth."  Then,  calling  their 
attention  to  his  case,  he  asked,  "  Whether  is  it  lawful 
to  do  good  on  the  sabbath  day  or  to  do  evil  ?  to  save 
life  or  to  kill?"  But  they  were  silent.  And  he  said 
to  them,  "  What  man  shall  there  be  among  you  that 


124  THE   SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOED. 

shall  have  a  sheep,  and  if  it  fall  into  a  pit  on  the  sab- 
bath day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and  lift  it  out  ? 
How  much  better  then  is  a  man  than  a  sheep? 
Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do  well  on  the  sabbath  day." 
And  he  said  to  the  man,  "  Stretch  forth  thy  hand." 
And  he  did  so,  and  it  was  immediately  healed.  In 
this  and  other  cases  we  find  that  whatever  work  was 
requisite  to  effect  the  cure,  or  properly  manifest  it  to 
the  glory  of  God,  and  whatever  was  suitable  for  the 
relief  and  comfort  of  the  afflicted  person,  was  done. 
Hence  he  commanded  the  impotent  man  who  lay  at 
the  pool  of  Bethesda  to  rise,  take  up  his  bed  and  go 
to  his  house :  and,  anointing  the  eyes  of  the  blind 
man  with  spittle  and  clay,  he  sent  him  to  the  pool  of 
Siloam  to  wash. 

And  Jesus,  when  he  healed  the  woman  who  had 
an  infirmity  eighteen  years,  rebuked  the  opposition  of 
the  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  saying,  "  Thou  hypocrite, 
doth  not  each  one  of  you,  on  the  sabbath,  loose  his  ox 
or  his  ass  from  the  stall  and  lead  him  away  to  water- 
ing? And  ought  not  this  woman,  being  a  daughter 
of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  hath  bound,  lo,  these  eigh- 
teen years  be  loosed  from  this  bond  on  the  sabbath 
day?" 

Thus  are  we  taught  that  works  of  necessity  and 
mercy  are  lawful  on  the  sabbath  day.  Hence,  when 
life  or  property  is  in  danger,  the  necessary  steps  may 
be  taken  to  save  them.  Means  may  be  employed  for 
the  removal  of  disease  and  the  restoration  of  health. 
Needful  food  may  be  prepared,  provided  the  necessity 
is  not  the  result  of  intentional  neglect  or  design.  The 
sick  may  be  visited,  and  friendly  visits  for  religious 


THE  OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH.  125 

discourse  and  edification  may  be  paid ;  but  they 
should  be  so  timed  as  not  to  interfere  with  or  prevent 
attention  to  other  important  duties. 

Let  no  one  take  advantage  of  this  saying,  "  I  will 
have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice,"  to  justify  willful  and 
needless  profanations  of  the  sabbath.  The  end  or  de- 
sign of  the  sabbath  must  be  kept  in  view,  and  it 
should  be  religiously  observed  in  accordance  there- 
with, except  when  the  demand  of  necessity  or  mercy 
require  a  departure  therefrom.  It  will  be  well  to  re- 
member that  the  eye  of  the  Lord  is  upon  us  at  all 
times,  and  that  he  knows  whether  there  is  a  real  ne- 
cessity or  not  for  the  work  that  is  done  on  the 
sabbath.  Men  may  deceive  themselves,  and  offer 
plausible  excuses  to  others  for  their  needless  profana- 
tion of  the  sabbath :  but  they  cannot  deceive  God, 
and  only  involve  themselves  in  guilt  and  ruin.  A 
chemist  and  druggist  once  remarked  to  an  American 
author,  "  There  was  a  time  when  I  used  to  court  busi- 
ness on  the  Lord's  day  ;  and  sheltering  myself  under 
the  alleged  necessity  of  being  on  hand  to  supply  medi- 
cines in  case  of  illness,  I  employed  myself  in  pre- 
paring tinctures,  soda  powders,  etc.,  for  the  sake  of 
saving  time  on  other  days.  At  that  time  I  took  more 
money  on  the  sabbath  than  on  any  other  day,  not  a 
penny  in  a  shilling  of  which  was  for  matters  of  real 
necessity.  When  I  began  to  see  it  to  be  my  duty 
to  act  differently,  and  refused  to  sell  perfumery,  cigars,, 
etc.,  on  the  sabbath,  I  offended  a  few,  and  expected  to 
find  my  business  would  be  seriously  injured.  But  it 
turned  out  otherwise.  I  now  enjoy  my  sabbaths,  and 
11* 


126  THE    SABBATH   AND  ITS    LORD. 

can  saj  with  humble  thankfulness  that  my  prosperity 
is  greater  than  ever." 

A  distinguished  physician,  finding  his  calls  to  be  so 
many  on  the  sabbath,  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  him 
to  attend  to  public  worship,  made  it  known  that  he 
would  not  make  any  charge  for  Sunday  visits,  in  the 
hope  that  out  of  delicacy  but  few  would  send  for  him. 
But  he  found  himself  overrun  on  that  day  ;  for  every- 
body could  afford  to  be  sick  and  need  a  physician  on 
Sunday.  He  then  altered  his  plan,  and  gave  notice 
that  he  would  charge  double  for  Sunday  visits. 
After  that  he  was  seldom  sent  for  on  the  sabbath, 
and  then  only  in  extreme  cases  ;  so  that  he  could  after- 
ward enjoy  his  sabbaths-  by  a  regular  attendance  on 
religious  service. 

There  are  doubtless  cases  of  disease  in  which  the 
services  of  a  physician  are  required  on  the  sabbath, 
and  they  should  be  attended  to  without  making  double 
charge ;  but  ordinarily  these  might  be  so  arranged  as  not 
materially  to  interfere  with  the  due  observance  of  the 
day.  And  in  like  manner  apothecaries  might  so  ar- 
range their  hours  for  compounding  medicines  for  the 
sick,  that  they  could  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege 
of  attending  the  public  worship  of  God.  There  is 
certainly  no  necessity  that  they  should  keep  open  for 
the  sale  of  cigars,  mineral  water,  etc.  The  sin  of  sab- 
bath-breaking is  sadly  increasing.  Look  at  our  cities. 
See  the  thousands  of  taverns  and  grog-shops,  either 
boldly  thrown  open  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks, 
or  with  fronts  closed  and  side-doors  open,  dealing  out 
stealthily  the  drunkard's  poison.  Cigar  and  tobacco 
stores,  confectionaries   and  beer-shops,  are  many  of 


THE   OBSERVANCE   OF   THE   SABBATH.  127 

them  engaged  in  vending  their  different  commodities 
on  the  sabbath.  Bakers  and  barbers  generally  carry 
on  their  business  as  usual.  Stage,  steamboat  and  rail- 
road companies  endeavor  to  profit  by  getting  up  ex- 
cursions or  running  their  lines  on  the  Lord's  day. 
And  whatever  excuses  may  be  offered  for  these  things, 
it  is  evident  that  the  great  aim  is  to  make  money.  If 
it  were  found  that  these  violations  of  the  sabbath  were 
attended  with  pecuniary  loss,  horses  would  have  leave 
to  rest  in  their  stalls,  steamboats  would  lie  at  the 
wharf,  and  the  steam-engine  would  sleep  in  the  depot. 
If  men  could  make  money  by  going  to  church,  it 
would  no  longer  be  convenient  to  remain  at  home. 
Mankind  generally  seem  to  think  more  of  money  than 
they  do  of  virtue  or  of  God  himself.  They  look  at 
the  things  which  are  seen  and  not  at  the  unseen. 
Temporal  interests  and  sensual  pleasures  engage  their 
thoughts  and  eternal  things  are  banished  from  their 
minds.  Present  advanges  blind  their  eyes  to  future 
consequences,  and  eternal  salvation  is  risked,  is,  in- 
deed, bartered  away  for  the  increased  profits  supposed 
to  accrue  from  pursuing  their  business  on  the  sabbath. 
But  it  may  be  questioned  whether,  in  the  long-run,  it 
is  not  a  losing  business,,  even  in  this  world,  to  work  on 
the  sabbath.  Seven  young  men,  in  a  town  in  Massa- 
chusetts, started  in  the  same  business  nearly  at  the 
same  time.  Six  of  them  had  some  property  or  assist- 
ance from  their  friends,  and  followed  their  business  on 
the  sabbath,  as  well  as  on  the  other  six  days.  The 
other  had  less  property  than  either  of  the  six.  He 
had  less  assistance  from  friends,  and  worked  only  six 
days,  keeping  the  sabbath  holy.    In  a  few  years  he  was 


128  THE    SABBATH    AND   ITS   LORD. 

the  only  one  of  the  seven  who  had  any  property  an3 
had  not  failed  in  business. 

"  I  have  particularly  observed,"  says  a  respectable 
merchant  of  New  York,  "  that  those  who  kept  their 
counting-rooms  open  on  the  sabbath  during  my  resi- 
dence there  of  twenty-five  years,  have  failed  without 
exception."  Another  gentleman  says,  "  I  can  recollect 
more  than  fifty  years ;  but  I  cannot  recollect  a  case 
of  a  man  in  the  town  where  I  reside,  who  was  accus- 
tomed to  work  on  the  sabbath,  who  did  not  fail  or 
lose  his  property  before  he  died." 

Sir  Matthew  Hale  was  very  strict  in  observing  the 
sabbath,  and  he  tells  us  that  he  had  found  by  experi- 
ence that  any  attention  given  to  his  clients  or  their 
business  on  the  Lord's  day,  did  never  further  his  cause 
any ;  but  rather  tended  to  injure  it.  And  he  there- 
fore peremptorily  refused  to  attend  to  any  business  on 
the  sabbath,  though  he  had  as  much  business  on  hand 
as  any  other  man  in  England,  both  before  and  after  he 
was  made  judge. 

Examples  of  this  kind  are  numerous  enough  to 
show  that  God,  by  his  special  providence,  has  sanc- 
tioned the  observance  of  the  Lord's  day,  and  placed 
the  stamp  of  condemnation  upon  the  willful  desecra- 
tion of  it.  But  in  their  mad  pursuit  after  wealth  and 
pleasure,  men  are  as  deaf  to  the  voice  of  God  in  pro- 
vidence as  they  are  to  his  voice  in  revelation.  No- 
thing restrains  them  from  the  most  flagrant  violations 
of  the  sabbath,  but  the  penalties  annexed  to  its  dese- 
cration by  the  civil  law.  And  they  are  loudly  urging 
their  petitions  to  have  those  penalties  removed  so  far 
as  may  be  necessary  for  them  to  profit  by  the  sabbatb 


THE   OBSERVANCE   OF   THE  SABBATH.  129 

as  a  common  holyday.  These  spiders  of  the  commu- 
nitj  are  very  willing  that  the  flies  may  all  be  out,  so 
that  they  may  only  be  allowed  to  spread  their  nets  to 
catch  them.  They  would  have  all  factories  and  work- 
shops closed,  that  the  unoccupied  operatives  may  be 
enticed  to  spend  their  hard-earned  money  in  dissipa- 
tion and  pleasure-seeking.  And  thousands  have  no 
more  wit  than  to  suppose  that  these  caterers  to  a  car- 
nal appetite,  these  tempters  from  the  right  ways  of 
the  Lord,  are  their  benefactors  and  friends,  and  join 
w^ith  them  in  petitioning  legislatures  and  councils  to 
allow  them  to  make  game  of  them  in  their  violation 
of  the  sabbath. 

We  are  generally  more  apt  to  be  lax  in  our  observ- 
ance of  the  sabbath  than  overstrict  in  keeping  it. 
Could  we  give  the  sabbath  a  tongue,  what  complaints 
might  it  not  make  against  its  Yerj  friends  ?  Alas ! 
would  it  not  say,  "  To  what  indignities  am  I  not  sub- 
jected ?  Many  will  sit  up  on  Saturday  night,  and 
work  or  keep  their  shops  open  till  midnight,  because 
they  can  make  up  their  lack  of  sleep  by  lying  abed  so 
much  later  in  the  morning,  thus  wasting  my  precious 
hours  in  slumber.  And  then  they  don't  go  to  church 
because  they  can't  get  ready  in  time.  The  afternoon 
is  spent  in  visiting  their  friends  or  receiving  calls,  and 
they  won't  go  to  church  at  night,  because  they  want  to 
rise  early  on  Monday  morning,  and  therefore  they 
must  go  to  bed  in  season.  The  languge  of  their  con- 
duct, if  not  their  words,  is,  "  When  will  the  sabbath 
be  gone,  that  we  may  buy  and  sell  and  get  gain  ?"  We 
might  enlarge  upon  this  point,  and  show  the  numer 
ous  ways  in  w^hich  the  sabbath  is  desecrated  by  its 


130  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS  LOBD. 

professed  friends.  But  space  will  not  permit.  The 
neglect  of  the  means  of  grace^  the  disregard  of  the 
sanctuary,  the  contempt  of  religious  ordinances,  mani- 
fested in  the  indolent  lounging  about  home,  the 
secular  employment;  the  vain  and  trifling  conversa- 
tion of  professors  of  religion,  show  that  there  is  a 
sad  deficiency  of  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  a  dangerous 
conformity  to  the  world.  Professors  of  religion  who 
violate  the  sabbath  unnecessarily  in  seeking  their 
own  pleasure  and  ease,  little  think  of  the  pernicious 
influence  of  their  example.  Men  of  the  world  watch 
for  the  failings  of  professors  of  religion,  sneer  at 
their  inconsistencies,  denounce  their  hypocrisy,  and 
justify  themselves  in  an  open  disregard  of  the  sabbath 
and  religious  institutions  by  their  faults. 

A  suitable  preparation  should  be  made  previous  to 
the  sabbath,  that  it  may  be  kept  holy.  "  Six  days 
shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work."  All  business 
necessary  to  be  attended  to  before  Monday  morning 
should  be  transacted  by  Saturday  evening.  The  week's 
work  should  all  be  done,  that  none  of  its  cares  be 
carried  over  into  the  sabbath  day.  If  a  person  has  so 
much  to  do  that  he  cannot  accomplish  it  all  in  six 
days,  he  should  either  procure  some  one  to  assist  him, 
or  else  curtail  his  business.  He  has  no  right  to  steal 
the  hours  of  the  sabbath  for  secular  employment. 
Posting  books,  making  out  bills,  writing  business 
letters,  and  other  ways  in  which  tradesmen  and  others 
frequently  employ  a  portion  of  the  sabbath,  is  alto- 
gether wrong  and  pernicious  in  its  influence  upon  the 
mind.  Any  other  kind  of  work  might  as  well  be 
done.     The  command  requires  that  all  the  work — 


THE    OBSERVANCE    OF  THE   SABBATH.  131 

all  the  secular  business  of  the  week,  shall  be  done  in 
six  days.  On  the  sabbath  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work, 
neither  employ  any  one  to  work  for  you  in  your  secu- 
lar business  on  that  day. 

In  the  house  also  every  suitable  preparation 
should  be  made  in  providing  food,  fuel  and  cloth- 
ing, that  the  spiritual  exercises  of  the  family, 
their  attendance  at  church,  and  their  profit  from 
the  means  of  grace,  may  be  interfered  with  as 
little  as  possible.  It  is  a  bad  sign  to  see  pro- 
fessors of  religion  going  to  the  barber's  and  the 
baker's  on  the  sabbath  morning.  It  is  a  bad  sign 
if  the  tailor,  mantua-maker,  milliner,  hatter  or  shoe- 
maker to  send  their  work  home  on  the  sabbath  morn- 
ing. There  are  many  little  things  which  might  be 
attended  to  on  the  previous  day,  that  are  negligently 
suffered  by  most  professors  to  pass  over  undone  until 
sabbath  morning,  and  then  all  are  in  haste  to  have 
their  little  chores  done  in  time  for  church.  How  much 
better  if  all  preparations  were  made  on  Saturday, 
and  that  there  should  be  nothing  to  draw  off  the 
thoughts  from  the  contemplation  of  heavenly  things 
on  the  Lord's  day. 

Every  Christian  especially  should  prepare,  by  pri- 
vate devotion  and  self-examination,  for  the  profitable 
use  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  a  comfortable  com- 
munion with  God  in  the  services  of  his  house.  And 
every  one  should  be  careful  to  be  at  the  place  of  wor- 
ship in  due  time,  so  as  to  be  present  at  the  beginning 
of  the  exercises ;  and  not  think  himself  in  time  if  he 
only  gets  there  soon  enough  to  hear  the  text  an- 
nounced ;    as   if  the   object  were   more  to   hear   the 


132  THE    SABBATH   AND  ITS   LORD. 

preaclier  than  to  worship  God.  The  hearing  of  faith 
is  indeed  of  great  importance;  but  they  that  have 
faith  will  exercise  it  toward  God  in  devoutly  prepar- 
ing to  profit  by  the  word.  And  after  a  devout  attend- 
ance on  the  services  of  God's  house,  let  the  intervening 
time  be  spent  in  accordance  with  the  design  of  the 
day,  in  reading  the  Scriptures  and  religious  books, 
meditation,  prayer  and  praise,  or  in  sabbath  school 
teaching,  visiting  the  sick,  and  other  works  of  piety 
and  mercy. 

O !  what  a  blessing  would  the  sabbath  prove  if  it 
were  thus  employed  in  cultivating  the  mind  and  heart 
and  elevating  the  soul  in  communion  with  God.  Then 
all  dullness  and  wearisomeness  would  vanish.  The 
sabbath  would  be  called  a  delight  and  honorable.  A 
holy  cheerfulness  would  sweeten  its  passing  hours — a 
divine  elevation  would  gladden  the  spirit — a  heavenly 
hope  would  fill  the  soul  with  rejoicing.  A  sabbath 
thus  spent  would  form,  as  it  was  intended  it  should, 
the  nearest  approximation  to  the  millennial  sabbath 
that  we  may  be  now  permitted  to  enjoy.  It  is  the 
Millennium's  symbol-day  and  should  be  its  antepast. 
Then  should  we  be  made  joyful  through  the  blessed 
hope  of  that  time  which  is  emphatically  called  "  the 
day  of  the  Lord,"  that  seventh  millenary  of  the  world, 
when  all  the  saints  of  God  shall  be  exalted  with  Christ 
in  his  glory.  Isaiah  celebrates  that  day,  as  from  the 
hill  of  prophecy  he  viewed  in  the  distance  its  coming 
glory.  "  And  there  shall  come  a  rod  out  of  the  stem 
of  Jesse,  and  a  branch  shall  grow  out  of  his  roots. 
And  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the 
Spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  Spirit   of 


THE    OBSERVANCE    OF  THE    SABBATH.  133 

counsel  and  might,  the  Spirit  of  knowledge  and  of 
the  fear  of  the  Lord.  And  shall  make  him  of  quick 
understanding  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord ;  and  he  shall 
not  judge  after  the  sight  of  his  eyes,  neither  reprove 
after  the  hearing  of  his  ears.  But  with  righteousness 
shall  he  judge  the  poor,  and  reprove  with  equity  for 
the  meek  of  the  earth ;  and  he  shall  smite  the  earth 
with  the  rod  of  his  mouth,  and  with  the  breath  of 
his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked.  And  righteousness 
shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  loins,  and  faithfulness  the 
girdle  of  his  reins.  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with 
the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the 
kid ;  and  the  calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  fatling 
together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them.  And  the 
cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed ;  their  young  ones  shall 
lie  down  together,  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the 
ox.  And  the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of 
the  asp,  and  the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on 
the  cockatrice's  den.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy 
in  all  my  holy  mountain ;  for  the  earth  shall  be  full 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea.  And  in  that  day  there  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse, 
which  shall  stand  for  an  ensign  of  the  people.'  To  it 
shall  the  gentiles  seek,  and  his  rest  shall  be  glorious." 
Isa.  xi.  1-10.  The  time  here  predicted  is  evidently 
the  Millennium,  or  the  good  time  coming,  which  has 
been  the  expectation  of  God's  people  for  ages  past ; 
and  the  Rod  and  Branch  of  Jesse  who  shall  reign  in 
that  time  is  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  who  was 
made  of  the  seed  of  David  the  son  of  Jesse  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh.  The  Rest  is  his — a  consummation  of 
his  work  during  the  -six  millenaries  from  man's  fall 
12 


134  THE    SABBATH   AND   ITS   LOKD, 

Tinto  the  restitution  of  all  things.  The  redemption  of 
his  elect  church  will  then  be  completed,  and  as  the 
"bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,  she  will  enter  with  him  into 
the  enjoyment  of  that  rest.  Then  shall  the  arm  of  the 
oppressor  be  broken,  and  rest  be  given  to  the  na- 
tions, who  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares 
and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks  and  learn  war  no 
more.  Every  man  shall  sit  under  his  own  vine  and 
fig-tree  and  none  disturb  his  peace. 

The  sabbath  was  made  for  man ;  and  for  man  will 
the  Millennium  sabbath  dawn.  The  new  heavens  and 
earth,  which  according  to  his  promise  we  look  for,  is 
promised  to  Christ  and  his  saints,  for  therein  shall  all 
believers  obtain  a  glorious  and  everlasting  reward 
along  with  Christ  in  his  kingdom.  That  promised 
glory  and  blessedness  is  not  promised  only  to  the  peo- 
ple of  God  who  may  then  be  alive  and  remain  on  the 
earth,  but  to  all  the  saints  of  God  from  Abel  down  to 
the  coming  of  the  Lord.  For  they  who  shall  be  alive 
and  remain  shall  not  hinder  those  who  are  asleep;  but 
the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  and  the  living  in  Christ 
be  changed  at  the  same  time  and  caught  up  to  meet 
the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  all  shall  enter  with  him  into 
the  rest  or  sabbatism  of  glory  and  joy.  But  we  must 
not  suppose  that  the  millennial  sabbath  will  be 
to  the  saints  a  period  of  inert  repose.  Far  from 
it.  They  will  be  made  kings  and  priests  unto 
God,  and  shall  reign  on  the  earth.  They  will  be 
actively  and  delightfully  employed  in  carrying  on 
the  administration  of  the  heavenly  kingdom,  in 
governing  the  nations,  in  subduing  and  reconciling 
all  the  disobedient  to  the  government  of  God.     In  this 


THE    OBSERVANCE   OF    THE    SABBATH.  135 

work  they  will  find  tlieir  highest  satisfaction  and  en- 
joyment. A  state  of  voluptuous  indolence,  such  as 
many  expect  in  heaven,  would  be  a  curse  instead  of 
a  blessing  to  intelligent  beings.  The  saints  of  God 
are  to  be  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works, 
and  all  the  traits  of  Christian  character  here  formed 
must  come  into  active  exercise  in  the  future  king- 
dom of  Christ.  The  Millennial  sabbath  will  be 
a  perfect  rest  to  them  from  all  the  work  and  trial 
of  the  present  probationary  life,  and  in  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  the  glory  and  blessedness  promised  as  their 
reward. 

Under  their  administration  of  the  kingdom,  the 
nations  of  the  earth  shall  have  rest.  They  shall 
pursue  the  arts  of  peace.  War  shall  be  known 
no  more.  Its  horrid  art  shall  be  forgotten.  Slavery 
shall  cease.  Its  chains  will  be  broken,  and  no  more 
shall  "  man's  inhumanity  to  man  make  countless  mil- 
lions mourn." 

"  The  groans  of  nature  on  this  nether  world, 
Which  Heaven  has  heard  for  ages,  have  an  end, 
Foretold  by  prophets,  and  by  poets  sung 
"Whose  fire  was  kindled  at  the  prophet's  lamp. 
The  time  of  rest,  the  promised  sabbath  comes  ; 
Six  thousand  years  of  sorrow  have  well-nigh 
Fulfilled  their  tardy  and  disastrous  course 
Over  a  sinful  world ;  and  what  remains 
Of  this  tempestuous  state  of  human  things 
Is  merely  as  the  workings  of  a  sea 
Before  a  calm,  that  rocks  itself  to  rest. 
For  he  whose  car  the  winds  are,  and  the  clouds 
The  dost  that  waits  upon  his  sultry  march. 
When  sin  hath  moved  him,  and  his  wrath  is  hot, 
Shall  visit  earth  in  mercy ;  shall  descend 


136  THE   SABBATH   AND  ITS   LORD. 

Propitious  in  his  chariot  paved  with  love  ; 
And  what  his  storms  have  blasted  and  defaced 
For  man's  revolt,  shall  with  a  smile  repair." 

Yes,  we  look  and  wait  for  that  rest.  We  groan 
for  that  redemption,  and  hopefully  anticipate  the 
promised  jubilee  of  earth.  The  nearer  the  Millen- 
nial sabbath  approaches,  the  more  carefully  should 
we  observe  its  hallowed  symbol,  and  prepare  for 
its  glorious  realities.  If  we  have  no  taste  for  the 
religious  services  of  the  symbol-sabbath,  how 
can  we  expect  to  enjoy  the  thing  symbolized? 
Let  us  then  assiduously  cultivate  a  love  for  the 
sabbath  and  its  holy  duties,  "  not  forsaking  the 
assembling  of  ourselves  together  as  the  manner  of 
some  is ;  but  exhorting  one  another,  and  so  much 
the  more  as  we  see  the  day  approaching."  Hail, 
then,  each  sabbath  morning  with  delight.  Kise  early 
that  you  may  have  the  more  time  to  spend  in  its 
appropriate  religious  exercises.  Lift  up  your  soul 
to  God  in  devout  contemplation — fervent  prayer 
and  grateful  praise,  and  in  your  secret  communing 
with  heaven,  let  your  soul  be  baptized  with  the 
Spirit,  that  you  may  be  in  the  Spirit  throughout 
the  day.  Gather  yonr  family  together,  and  with  them 
join  in  singing  Jehovah's  praise,  reading  his  word, 
and  offering  the  tribute  of  devotion.  Take  them 
to  the  house  of  God  for  public  worship,  and  teach 
them  to  esteem  the  sabbath  and  its  services  as  their 
greatest  pleasure.  And  when  the  day  of  the  Lord 
comes,  God  will  bring  you  to  his  holy  mountain  and 
make  you  joyful  in  his  house  of  prayer. 


THE  OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH.     137 

0  happy  day  !  Great  sabbath  of  Eedemption.  Eest 
of  the  redeemed — of  all  the  redeemed — of  the  re- 
deemed from  six  thousand  years  of  trial,  toil  and  pain 
— of  all  who  through  faith  have  washed  their  robes 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
"What  glorious  beauty  shall  thy  peaceful  years  adorn! 
What  substantial  pleasures  flow  from  the  presence  of 
the  sabbath's  Lord,  and  thrill  with  rapturous  joy  the 
glorified  company !  How  exalted  their  condition ! 
how  heavenly  !  how  divine  1  What  magnificent  de- 
velopments will  be  made  of  the  love  of  God  to  his 
chosen  and  sanctified  ones !  What  a  compensation 
for  their  work  of  labor  and  love  which  they  have 
showed  toward  his  name ! 

O  day  of  the  Lord !  the  seventh,  in  relation  to  the 
past,  bringing  sweet  repose,  and  heavenly  rest  to  the 
weary  workers  who  shall  compose  the  church  of  the 
saved ;  and  yet  the  first  in  relation  to  the  future,  the 
embryo  of  a  still  more  glorious  and  unending  day  of 
rest,  when  under  the  administration  of  the  saints  of 
God,  with  Jesus  reigning,  the  subjection  and  reconcilia- 
tion of  all  things  shall  have  been  effected,  and  all  in- 
telligences, in  their  appropriate  conditions,  shall  bow 
the  knee  to  Jesus,  and  confess  him  Lord,  to  the  glory 
of  God  the  Father;  when  the  voices  of  earth  shall 
all  be  tuned  to  a  divine  harmony,  and  join  in  the 
universal  chorus  of  praise. 

The  purpose  of  God  in  relation  to  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  through  the  reign  of  the  saints,  will  culmi.- 
nate  at  the  end  of  a  thousand  years :  and  the  Millen- 
nium sabbath  will  end,  to  be  succeeded  by  other 
measures  of  the  divine  government  toward  the  un- 
12* 


138  THE   SABBATH  AND  ITS   LOKD. 

rigliteous  dead  vvho  shall  be  raised  from  death  and 
subjected  and  reconciled.  But  the  condition  of  the 
saints  will  not  end  with  the  Millennium.  They  will  be 
kings  and  priests  unto  God  through  all  phases  of  the 
everlasting  kingdom.  Their  rest  of  glory  and  bless- 
edness shall  never  end ;  and  when  the  grand  consum- 
mation of  the  Divine  purpose  shall  have  been  effected 
through  their  instrumentality,  they  will  continue  to 
BEST  in  complete  satisfation  in  God  through  all  ages, 
world  without  end.  The  ultimate  of  the  Divine  pur- 
pose is  A  Sabbath  foe  all,  under  the  administration 
of  the  LoKD  OF  THE  Sabbath. 

"  Too  soon  our  earthly  sabbath  ends 
Cares  of  a  work-day  will  return, 
And  faint  our  hearts,  and  fitful  burn  : 
0  think,  my  soul,  beyond  compare, 
Think  what  a  sabbath  must  be  there  ; 
Where  all  is  holy  bliss,  that  knows 
Nor  imperfection,  nor  a  close. 


M(D(DM   2HE(D)M< 


"W,  Steel.  Sculp. 


THE    DIVINE    MAN 


A    DIALOGUE 

BETWEEN  REASON  AND  REVELATION,  ON  THE  INCOR- 
RUPTIBILITY OF  THE  SAVIOUR'S  BODY. 


EeasoN".  Good-morning,  Mr.  Eevelation,  I  am  glad 
to  meet  -vvitli  you.  I  Lave  been  desirous  of  consulting 
you  on  a  question  of  great  interest  relating  to  tLe  body 
of  Christ. 

Eevelation.  I  salute  you  in  tLe  Lord.  Eom.  xvi.  22. 
My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  Lis  tLat  sent  me ;  if  any 
man  will  do  Lis  will,  Le  sLall  know  of  tLe  doctrine, 
wLetLer  it  be  of  God,  or  wLetLer  I  speak  of  myself. 
JoLn  vii.  16,  17. 

Eea.  TLe  question  is  this  —  Was  tLe  body  of 
Jesus  CLrist,  tLe  Son  of  David,  liable  to  corruption  or 
not? 

Eev.  Let  me  freely  speak  unto  you  of  tLe  PatriarcL 
David,  tLat  Le  is  botL  dead  and  buried,  and  Lis  sepul- 
cLre  is  witL  iis  unto  tLis  day.  TLerefore,  being  a 
propLet,  and  knowing  tLat  God  Lad  sworn  witL  an 
oatL  to  Lim,  tLat  of  tLe  fruit  of  Lis  loins,  according  to 
tLe  ilesL,  Le  would  raise    up  CLrist    to  sit   on   Lis 

(141) 


142  THE   DIVINE   MAN. 

throne;  he  seeing  this  before^  spake  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  that  his  soul  was  not  left  in  hell, 
neither  did  his  flesh  see  corruption.  Acts  ii.  29-31. 

Rea.  I  believe  the  testimony  that  Christ  rose  from 
the  dead,  consequently  was  not  left  in  the  state  of  the 
dead,  as  was  David;  and  so  short  was  the  period 
intervening  between  liis  death  and  resurrection,  that 
he  saw  no  putrefaction;  but  was  this  an  essential 
quality  of  the  body  of  Christ  ? 

Bev.  And  as  concerning  that  he  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  now  no  more  to  return  to  corruption,  he 
said  on  this  wise,  I  will  give  you  the  sure  mercies  of 
David.  Wherefore  he  saith  also  in  another  Psalm, 
Tliou  shall  not  suffer  thine  holy  one  to  see  corruption.  For 
David,  after  he  had  served  his  own  generation  by  the 
will  of  God,  fell  on  sleep^  and  was  laid  unto  his  fathers, 
and  saw  corruption :  but  HE  whom  God  raised  again, 
SAW  NO  CORKUPTION.  Acts  xiii.  34-37. 

Eea.  I  am  filled  with  comfort  in  the  firm  belief  that 
Christ  rose  from  the  dead  to  die  no  more ;  and  whether 
the  body  of  Jesus  was  perishable  or  not,  it  was  not 
the  Divine  will  that  any  decomposition  should  take 
place  in  that  body — therefore  it  saw  no  corruption; 
but  would  not  that  body  have  putrefied  and  decayed, 
had  it  remained  hng  enough  in  the  tomb? 

Rev.  Him,  being  delivered  by  the  determinate 
counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and 
by  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  slain;  whom 
God  raised  up,  having  loosed  the  pains  of  death :  he- 
cause  it  was  IMPOSSIBLE  that  HE  should  he  holden  of  it. 
For  David  speaketh  concerning  him,  I  foresaw  the 
Lord  alivays  before  my  face ;  for  he  is  on  my  right 


THE    DIVINE    MAN".  113 

hand,  tliat  I  sliould  not  be  moved :  therefore  did  my 
heart  rejoice,  and  my  tongue  was  glad;  moreover  also 
viy  FLESH  shall  REST  in  hope:  because  thou  wilt  not 
leave  my  soul  in  hell^  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  HoLY 
OiSTE  to  see  corruption.  Acts  ii.  23-27. 

Eea.  I  understand  that  in  accordance  with  the  eco- 
nomy of  the  Divine  government  and  the  eternal 
principles  of  rectitude,  which  exist  in  the  Divine 
mind,  and  are  developed  in  his  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  universe,  it  was  impossible  that  the  body 
of  Jesus  should  see  corruption.  And  it  appears,  also, 
that,  although  Christ  died,  yet  he  was  not,  judicially, 
as  fallen  man  is,  under  the  bond  or  sentence  of  death. 
The  penalty,  ''Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  thou  shalt 
return,"  could  have  no  bearing  upon  him :  and  con- 
sequently he  could  not  be  retained  under  the  do- 
minion of  death.  Was  then  his  death  voluntary  ?  and 
had  he  power  to  assume  life  again  ? 

Eev.  Jesus  said,  Therefore  doth  m}^  Father   love 

me,  because  I  LAY  DOWN  MY  LIFE  THAT  I  MIGHT  TAKE 

IT  AGAIN".     No  man  taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay  it 

down  of  MYSELF.      I  HAVE    POWER   TO    LAY   IT   DOWN 

and  I  HAVE  POWER  TO  TAKE  IT  AGAIN.  This  com- 
mandment have  I  received  of  my  Father.  John  x.  17, 
18.  For  as  the  Father  hath  life  in  himself,  so  hath 
he  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself  John  v. 
26. 

Eea.  In  these  passages  Christ  evidently  speaks  of 
himself  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  only  Mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man,  and  declares  that  his  death  and 
rising  again  were  acts  of  his  own,  voluntary  and  de- 
signed ;  and  effected  in  accordance  with  his  Father's 


144  THE  DIVINE   MAN. 

will,  and  in  virtue  of  a  power  and  principle  of  life 
which  the  Father  had  given  him.  Has  he  elsewhere 
said  any  thing  to  the  same  purpose  ? 

Rev.  Jesus  answered  and  said  to  them,  Destroy  this 
temple,  and  in  three  days  /  iv'ill  raise  it  up.  But  he 
spake  of  the  temple  of  his  hody.  When  therefore  he 
was  risen  from  the  dead,  his  disciples  remembered  that 
he  had  said  this  unto  them ;  and  they  believed  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  words  which  Jesus  had  said.  John 
ii.  19-22. 

Rea.  It  certainly  was  impossible,  in  accordance  with 
the  Divine  economy,  that  the  body  of  Jesus  should 
see  corruption.  Did  it  then  differ  any  from  the  na- 
tural bodies  of  mankind  generally  ? 

Rev.  And  the  angel  said  unto  her,  Fear  not,  Mary, 
for  thou  hast  found  favor  with  God.  And,  behold, 
thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb,  and  bring  forth  a 
son,  and  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great, 
and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  tlw  Highest;  and  the 
Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father 
David:  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob 
forever^  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  he  no  end. 
Then  Mary  said  unto  the  angel,  How  shall  this  be, 
seeing  I  know  not  a  man?  And  the  angel  answered 
and  said  unto  her,  The  Holy  Spirit  shall  come  upon  thee, 
even"^  the  'power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee; 
therefore  also  that  Holy  ONEf  loho  shall  he  born  of  thee, 
shall  he  called  the  SoN  OF  GoD.  Luke  i.  30-35.     Now 

*  The  Greek  fcai  has  frequently  the  sense  of  even,  and  I  think 
it  has  that  sense  in  this  place. 

t  There  is  no  word  in  the  Greek  corresponding  with  thing.  It 
makes  bettor  sense  by  supplying  the  term  One. 


THE   DIVINE   MAN".  145 

all  tbis  was  done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  wliich  was 
spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  saying,  Behold,  a 
Virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall  bring  forth  a 
son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel,  which 
being  interpreted  is,  GoD  with  us.  Mat.  i.  22,  23. 

Eea.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  conception  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  not  according  to  natural  generation ; 
but  was  effected  by  the  Divine  Spirit  in  a  supernatu- 
ral and  inconceivable  manner.  Hence  the  son  of  Mary 
was  truly  the  Son  of  God  incarnated.  Did  not  his 
incarnation,  and  being  born  of  a  woman,  involve  him 
in  the  sin  of  the  first  representative  man,  and  subject 
him  to  death  as  the  penalty  of  that  sin  ? 

Eev.  And  ye  know  that  he  was  manifested  to  take 
away  our  sins ;  and  in  him  is  no  sin.  1  John  iii.  5. 
For  such  a  high  priest  became  us,  who  is  /loZy,  harm- 
hss,  undefiled^  SEPARATE  FROM  SINNERS,  and  made 
higher  than  the  heavens.  Heb.  vii.  26.  Who  did  no 
sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth.  1.  Pet.  ii. 
22.      Who  knew  no  sin.  2  Cor.  v.  21. 

Rea.  He  must,  indeed,  have  been  holy ;  his  nature 
sinless  and  pure;  his  life  immaculate  in  word  and 
deed;  every  affection  of  his  mind  and  every  sensa- 
tion of  his  body  so  perfectly  tempered  as  not  to  admit 
of  any  morbid  action  or  the  least  irregular  move- 
ment. How  then  could  he  sympathize  with  us,  and 
to  what  extent  be  affected  in  our  behalf? 

Rev.  Forasmuch  then  as  the  children  are  partakers 
of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  likewise  took  part 
of  the  same,  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and 
deliver  them,  who  through  fear  of  death,  were  all  their 
13 


146  THE   DIVINE   MAN. 

lifetime  subject  to  bondage.  For  verily  lie  took  not 
on  him  (the  form  or  condition)  of  angels  ;  but  lie  took 
on  him  (the  form  or  condition)  of  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham."^ Wherefore  in  all  things  it  behooved  him  to  be 
made  like  unto  his  breihrerij  that  he  might  be  a  merciful 
and  faithful  High  Priest  in  things  pertaining  to  God, 
to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  For 
in  that  he  himself  hath  suffered,  being  tempted,  he  is 
able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted.  Heb.  ii.  14-18. 
For  we  have  not  a  High  Priest  which  caymot  he  touched 
with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  was  in  all  points 
tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin.  Heb.  iv.  15. 
For  consider  him  that  endured  such  contradiction  of 
sinners  against  himself,  lest  ye  be  wearied  and  faint 
in  your  minds.  Heb.  xii.  3. 

Hea.  The  incarnation  of  Christ  was  then  an  assump- 
tion of  the  condition  of  Abraham's  seed— a  being 
made  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh — and  was  neces- 
sary to  qualify  him  to  act  as  Mediator  between  God  and 
men ;  and,  as  High  Priest  of  the  human  family,  offer 
to  God  an  acceptable  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 
But,  if  his  Divine  humanity  was  essentially  free  from 
natural  infirmity,  how  did  he  qualify  himself  for  the 
work  of  redemption,  which  required  sacrifice  and  suf- 
fering ? 

Kev.  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  as  God  ;t  but  made  himself  of  no  repu- 
iatim,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and 
was  made  in  the  likeness  of  man ;  and  being  found  in 
fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself  and  became  obe- 

*  See  Note  A.  t  See  Note  B. 


THE   DIVINE   MAN.  147 

dient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  Phil.  ii. 
6-8.  For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him  as  a  tender 
plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground :  he  hath  no 
form  nor  comeliness;  and  when  we  shall  see  him,  there 
is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him.  He  is  de- 
spised and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief:  and  we  hid,  as  it  were,  our 
faces  from  him;  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed 
him  not.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried 
our  sorrows :  3''et  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten 
of  God,  and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities :  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him ;  and  with 
his  stripes  we  are  healed.  Isa.  liii.  2-5.  Himself  took 
our  infirmities  and  hare  our  sicknesses.  Matt.  viii.  17. 

Kea.  It  appears,  then,  that  though  he  was  not  per- 
sonally liable  to  disease  or  pain  or  death,  yet  he  could 
voluntarily  suffer,  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  God, 
and  actually  endured  affliction,  and  sorrow,  and  death, 
for  the  reconciliation  of  transgressors.  But  he  could 
not  suffer  any  thing  beyond  what  was  included  in  his 
mediatorial  work ;  and  hence  was  not  liable  to  corrup- 
tion, which  was  not  included  in  the  things  he  had  to 
endure ;  and  had  it  been  so  ordained  that  he  should 
have  remained  longer  in  the  sepulchre,  still  his  body 
would  not  have  decayed.  But  he  would  have  pre- 
served his  flesh  from  corruption  by  the  same  power 
by  which  he  rose  again  from  the  dead.  What  amaz- 
ing grace !  The  Son  of  God  who  dwelt  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father  vailed  his  glory,  divested  himself  of  the 
form  or  condition  of  Godhead  which  he  had  with  the 
Father  before  the  world  was ;  and  by  a  mysterious, 


148  THE   DIVINE   MAN. 

but  real  incarnation,  took  the  form  of  a  servant,  was 
made  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  suffered,  and  died 
for  our  redemption ! 

Kev.  For  ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that,  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he 
became  poor,  that  ye,  through  his  poverty,  might  be 
rich.  2  Cor.  viii.  9.  For  he  hath  made  him  who  knew 
no  sin  to  be  a  sin-oflfering*  for  us,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him.  2  Cor.  v.  21. 
For  Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just  for 
the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us  to  God.  1  Pet. 
iii.  18. 

Re  A.  This  was  truly  a  wonderful  exhibition  of 
grace,  and  excites  in  my  soul  the  liveliest  percep- 
tion of  the  demerit  of  sin,  which  required  such  a 
sacrifice  for  its  expiation ;  and  I  trust  a  saving  appre- 
hension of  the  mercy  thus  manifested  in  providing 
such  a  sacrifice  and  Saviour.  Was  the  Divine  nature 
and  immaculate  purity  of  Jesus  Christ  necessary  to 
the  acceptability  and  merit  of  his  sacrifice  ? 

Kev.  Forasmuch  then  as  jq  know  that  ye  are  not 
redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold, 
but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb 
without  blemish  and  ivilhout  spot ;  who  verily  was  fore- 
ordained before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  but  was 
manifest  in  these  last  times  for  you ;  who  by  him  do 
believe  in  God  that  raised  him  up  from  the  dead  and 
gave  him  glory,  that  your  faith  and  hope  might  be  in 
God.  1  Pet.  i.  18-21.  But  Christ  being  come  a  High 
Priest  of  good  things  to  come,  by  a  greater  and  more 

*  See  Note  C. 


THE   DIVINE   MAN.  149 

perfect  tabernacle  not  made  witli  handS;  that  is  to  say, 
not  of  this  building ;  neither  by  the  blood  of  goats 
and  calves,  but  by  his  own  blood,  he  entered  in 
once  into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal  re- 
demption for  us.  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of 
goats,  and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer,  sprinkling  the  un- 
clean, sanctifieth  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh ;  how 
much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who,  through 
the  eternal  Spirit,  offered  himself  zvithoui  sjjot  to  God^ 
purge  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the 
living  God  ?  Heb.  ix.  11-14. 

Eea.  The  sacrifices  here  alluded  to  undoubtedly 
indicated,  typically,  the  unblemished  nature  and  im- 
maculate character  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  called  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 
And  they  show  that  none  but  a  pure  and  perfect  sacri- 
fice would  be  acceptable  to  God.  The  tabernacle  in 
which  Christ  served  was  the  heavenly ;  and  the  heav- 
enly things  had  to  be  purified  with  a  better  sacrifice 
than  was  ordained  for  the  earthly  tabernacle  which 
Moses  pitched  in  the  wilderness.  O  how  wonderful 
that  that  sacrifice  should  be  his  own  body ;  and  that 
he  should  enter,  into  the  Holiest  of  all  with  his  own 
blood,  having  obtained  eternal  redemption  for  us! 
O  how  sweet  are  thy  words  unto  me !  Hast  thou  any 
further  testimony  concerning  the  Divine  nature  of 
Jesus  ? 

Eev.  In  the  heginning  was  the  WOKD,  and  the 
WoKD  was  luith  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  The 
SAME  was  in  the  beginning  icith  GoD.  All  things 
were  made  BY  him  ;  and  without  him  was  not  any  thing 
made  that  is  made.  John  i.  1-3.  And  the  "Word  was 
13* 


150  THE   DIVINE   MAN. 

made  Flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  (and  we  beheld  his 
glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,) 
full  of  grace  and  truth.  John  i.  14.  For  in  him  dwell- 
eth  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  Col.  ii.  9. 

Eea.  I  understand,  then,  that  Jesus  Christ  who 
dwelt  among  men  in  a  state  of  humiliation  is  the 
WoKD,  the  Son  of  God,  who  was  with  God  before 
the  world  was,  and  hy  whom  God  made  the  worlds ; 
who,  also,  being  the  brightness  of  his  glory  and  ex- 
press image  of  his  person  appeared  as  God,  in  the 
ages  previous  to  his  incarnation,  and  represented  God.* 
I  also  learn  that  the  incarnation  changed  the  condi- 
tion of  his  being,  but  not  the  essence  of  his  nature. 

The  Word  made  Flesh  was 

"  As  much  when  in  the  manger  laid, 
Almighty  Ruler  of  the  sky, 
As  when  the  six  days'  work  he  made 
Filled  all  the  morning  stars  with  joy." — Watts. 

Am  I  not  then  to  understand  that  the  Word  made 
Flesh  is  substantially  and  essentially  the  same  in  his 
incarnate  condition  that  he  was  before  his  incarna- 
tion, and  indeed  that  he  was  in  the  beginning  with 
God? 

Eea.  That  which  was  from  the  beginning,  which  we 
have  heard^  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we 
have  looked  upon,  and  our  hands  have  handled  of  the 
Word  of  LiFE,;t  (for  the  Life  was  manifested,  and 

*  See  Note  D. 

t  The  Greek  ns^i  -tov  Xoyoy  tjys  C"»?5  perhaps  would  be  better 
rendered  "  concerning  the  Word  the  living  One,"  or  "  concern- 
ing the  Living  Woed." — See  Macknight  in  loco. 


THE   DIVINE   MAN.  161 

we  have  seen  it,  and  bear  witness,  and  show  nnto  you 
THAT  ETERNAL  LIFE,  which  was  luith  the  Father,  and 
was  manifested  unto  us ;)  that  which  we  have  seen 
and  heard  declare  we  unto  you,  that  ye  also  may 
have  fellowship  with  us ;  and  truly  our  fellowship 
is  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 
1  John  i.  1-3. 

Eea.  Then  it  was  indeed  the  Living  Word  who 
was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  whom  they  heard,  and 
saw,  and  looked  upon,  and  handled.  But  they  could 
not  see  and  look  upon  and  handle  an  invisible  and 
intangible  spirit.  Hence  the  Living  Word  was  the 
Son  of  God  made  flesh,  and  who  really  existed  iji  the  be- 
ginning.  Am  I  not  correct  in  my  conception  of  the 
substantial  identity  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus  and  the 
Living  Word  who,  as  the  Personal  Wisdom,  says, 
(Prov.  viii.  22-31,)  The  Lord  possessed  me  in  the  be- 
ginning of  his  way,  before  his  works  of  old.  I  was 
set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning,  or  ever 
the  earth  was.  When  there  were  no  depths,  I  was 
brought  forth,  etc. 

Eev.  Wherefore  he  saith,  When  he  ascended  up  on 
high,  he  led  captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto 
men.  (Now  that  he  ascended,  what  is  it  but  that  he  also 
descended  first  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  ?  He 
that  descended  is  the  same  also  that  ascended  up  far 
above  all  heavens,  that  he  might  fill  all  things.)  Eph. 
iv.  8-10.  No  man  hath  ascended  up  to  heaven,  but 
he  that  came  down  from  heaven,  even  the  Son  of  man 
who  is  in  heaven.  John  iii.  13.  Jesus  Christ  the 
same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  forever.  Heb.  xiii.  8. 

Eea.  This  is  truly  an  astonishing  contemplation ! 


152  THE   DIVINE   MAN". 

The  Living  Wokd  wTio  was  in  the  beginning  with  GOD 
and  represented  GoD,  by  appearing  as  GoD,  was  incar- 
nated, was  heard,  seen,  looked  upon,  and  handled ; 
and  was  the  same  when  in  the  flesh  that  he  was  in  the 
beginning  with  GoD;  the  SAME  that  he  now  is  and  ever 
shall  be.  Dr.  A.  Clarke  was  of  opinion  that  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  human  nature  of  Christ  was  a  real  crea- 
tion in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,  by  the  energy  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  T'^  and  it  is  commonly  received  that  there 
are  two  natures  in  Christ ;  one  Divine,  self- existent, 
unoriginated  ;  the  other  human,  dependent  and  origi- 
nated, according  to  Dr.  Clarke's  opinion,  about  1860 
years  ago.  But  I  now  perceive  that  these  views  can- 
not be  correct ;  for  they  could  not  see,  look  upon,  and 
handle  the  supposed  Divine  nature,  that  being  invisi. 
ble  and  intangible ;  and  if  the  supposed  human  nature 
was  originated  only  1860  years  ago,  then  it  could  not 
have  been  in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  could  not 
have  first  descended  from  heaven  before  it  ascended 
up  to  heaven.  But  thy  anointing,  0  blessed  Eevela- 
tion,  teaches  me  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  WoED  that 
was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  was  mysteriously 
incarnated,  and  dwelt  with  men,  being  seen  and 
handled  by  them,  thus  affording  infallible  proof  that 
he  had  assumed  the  condition  of  those  whom  he 
came  to  save.  Is  not  this  what  you  would  have  me 
believe  ? 

Eev.  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  Moses  gave  you  not  that  bread  from  heaven;  but 
my  Father  giveth  you  the  true  bread  from  heaven.  For 

*  See  Dr.  A.  Clarke's  Com.  on  Matt.  i.  20  and  Luke  i.  35. 


THE   DIVINE   MAN.  153 

the  bread  of  God  is  He  who  cometh  down  from  heaven^ 
and  giveth  life  unto  the  world.  John  vi.  32,  33.  lam 
the  Living  Bread  ivhich  came  down  from  heaven ;  if 
any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  forever;  and 
the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will 
give  for  the  life  of  the  world,  (v.  51.)  This  is  the  bread 
luhich  came  down  from  heaven  ;  not  as  your  fathers  did 
eat  manna  and  are  dead  :  he  that  eateth  of  this  bread 
shall  live  forever,  (v.  58.)  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  He  that  beliveth  on  me  hath  everlasting  life.  I 
am  that  bread  of  life,  (vv,  47,  48.) 

Rea.  Truly  Jesus  said  that  His  flesh  was  the 
bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,  and  this  agrees 
not  with,  and  disproves  the  opinion  of  those  who  hold 
that  though  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  was  created  or  be- 
gotten before  all  things,  and  was  with  God  in  the  be- 
ginning; yet  his  body  was  originated  in  the  womb  of 
the  Virgin,  about  1860  years  ago.  The  term  T?ie 
Word  was  made  flesh  imports  that  the  Divine  hu- 
manity was  incarnated — and  that  his  substance  or 
essence  was  the  same  afier  incarnation  as  before.  The 
phrase  "a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me," has  reference 
to  the  condition  which  the  Divine  humanity,  by  the 
power  of  the  Highest,  assumed  through  the  medium  of 
the  Virgin,  and  does  not  refer  to  any  new  creation.  It  is 
evident  that  Jesus  taught  the  Jews  that  he,  himself, 
whom  they  heard  and  saw  and  looked  upon  ;  he,  him- 
self, the  incarnate  "Word,  who  stood  before  them  in 
the  flesh  ;  he,  himself,  came  down  from  heaven  to  give 
life  unto  the  world ;  and  that  they  must  believe  in 
him  to  obtain  everlasting  life.  Hence  he  said.  Whoso 
eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood  hath  eternal 


154  THE   DIVINE  MAN. 

life ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.  For  my 
flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my  blood  is  drink  indeed." 
He  thus  proposes  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation  as 
an  essential  one.  And  shows  that  without  faith  in 
him  as  the  Wokd  made  flesh,  as  the  manifested  Son 
of  God  they  had  no  life,  that  is,  no  eternal  life.  Is  it 
not  so  ? 

Eev.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Ye  are  from  heneath  ; 
I  AM  FROM  ABOVE;  Ye  are  of  this  world;  I  AM  NOT 
OF  THIS  WORLD.  I  said  therefore  unto  you,  that  ye 
shall  die  in  your  sins ;  for  if  ye  believe  not  that  T  AM 
He,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins.  Then  said  they  unto 
him,  Who  art  thou?  And  Jesus  saith  unto  them, 
Even  the  same  that  I  said  unto  you  from  the  begin- 
ning. John  viii.  23-25.  I  proceeded  forth  and  came 
from  God ;  neither  came  I  of  myself,  but  he  sent  me. 
(v.  42.)  Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  of  God.  Every 
spirit  that  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the 
fleshy  is  of  God:  and  every  spirit  that  confesseth  not 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  is  not  of  God: 
and  this  is  that  spirit  of  anti-christ  whereof  ye  have 
heard  that  it  should  come  ;  and  even  now  already  is  it 
in  the  world.  1  John  iv.  2,  3.  Wherefore  T  give  you  to 
understand  that  no  man  speaking  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  calleth  Jesus  accursed ;  and  that  no  man  can  say 
that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  1  Cor. 
xii.  3.  The  first  man  (Adam)  is  of  the  earth,  earthy; 
the  second  man  (Christ)  is  the  Lord  from  heaven.  1  Cor. 
XV.  47. 

Rea.  Jesus  certainly  spake  of  himself  as  the  incar- 
nated Word,  as  the  one  whom  they  heard,  and  saw, 
and   looked  upon,  and  handled.     He  did  not  say,  I 


THE    DIVINE    MAN.  155 

have  a  human  nature  like  your  own  which  is  from  be- 
neath, and  is  very  man  ;  but  I  have  also  a  Divine  na- 
ture which  is  from  above,  and  is  very  God.  He  makes 
the  assertion  that  he,  himself^  whom  they  saw  and 
conversed  with,  was  from  above  ;  that  he  proceeded  and 
came  forth  from  God.  It  is  the  second  man,  not  the 
second  person  of  a  tri-personal  God,  who  is  the  Lord 
from  heaven.  Is  not  the  denial  of  this  great  truth  a 
mark  and  characteristic  of  anti-christ  ? 

Eev.  Who  is  a  liar,  but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ  ?  lie  is  anti-christ  that  denieth  the  Fa- 
ther and  the  Son.  Whosoever  denieth  the  Son,  the 
same  hath  not  the  Father ;  but  he  that  acknowledgeth 
the  Son,  hath  the  Father  also.  Let  that  therefore 
abide  in  you  which  you  have  heard  from  the  begin- 
ning. If  that  which  ye  have  heard  from  the  begin- 
ning shall  remain  in  you,  ye  also  shall  continue  in 
the  Son  and  in  the  Father.  1  John  ii.  22-24. 

Eea.  Then  he  that  says  that  Jesus  is  "  a  mere 
man,"  and  he  that  says  that  Jesus  was  "  a  new  creation 
in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,"  deny  that  Jesus  is  the 
Son  of  God  ;  both  make  him  a  creature ;  both  deny 
his  pre-existence ;  both  make  his  existence  to  com- 
mence with  his  conception  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin ; 
both  deny  that  he  is  the  Son  of  God  by  whom  all 
things  were  created.  And  denying  the  Son,  they  have 
not  the  Father.  The  Father  is  revealed  only  through 
the  Son.     Am  I  not  correct? 

Eev.  Jesus  answered.  Ye  neither  know  me  nor  my 
Father ;  if  ye  had  known  me  ye  should  have  known 
my  Father  also.  John  viii.  19.  All  things  are  de- 
livered unto  me  of  my  Father ;   and  no  man  knoweth 


156  THE   DIVINE   MAN". 

the  Son  but  the  Father ;  neither  knoweth  any  man 
the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the 
Son  will  reveal  him.  Mat.  xi.  27.  No  man  hath 
seen  God  at  any  time ;  the  only -begotten  Son,  who  is 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath  declared  him. 
John  i.  18.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  way,  the 
truth,  and  the  life ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father, 
but  by  me.  If  ye  had  known  me,  ye  should  have 
known  my  Father  also ;  and  from  henceforth  ye  know 
him  and  have  seen  him.  Philip  saith  unto  him, 
Lord,  show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us.  Jesus 
saith  unto  him.  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you, 
and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip  ?  He  that 
hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father ;  and  how  say  est 
thou  then  Show  us  the  Father?  Believest  thou  not 
that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me  ?  the 
words  that  I  speak  unto  you  I  speak  not  of  myself; 
but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  me,  he  doth  the 
works.  Believe  me  that  I  am  in  the  Father  and  the 
Father  in  me  ;  or  else  believe  me  for  the  very  works' 
sake.  John  xiv.  6-11. 

Eea.  I  understand  that  God  is  a  Spirit,  everywhere 
present  but  invisible,  and  no  man  hath  seen  him  at 
any  time.  The  Son  of  God  is  the  revealer  of  th-e  God- 
head ;  and  the  theophanies  of  the  old  dispensations 
were  manifestations  of  God  through  the  Son,  who 
being  in  the  form  of  God  thought  it  no  robbery  to  ap- 
pear as  God.  And  when  he  was  incarnated,  his  rela- 
tion as  the  revealer  of  the  Godhead  was  not  changed, 
though  his  condition  was  changed.  He  was  still  the 
representative  of  God,  and  in  him  the  Father  was 
manifested.     Hence  he  could  say  truly,  He  that  hath 


THE   DIVINE    MAN.  157 

seen  me,  hatli  seen  the  Father ;  for  he  was  still  the 
image  of  the  invisible  God;  the  same  yesterday  and 
to-day,  and  forever.  Was  it  not  thus  that  God  was 
seen  in  the  incarnate  Word  ? 

Rev.  And  without  controversy,  great  is  the  mys- 
tery of  godliness;  God  tuas  manifested  in  the  FLESH, 
justified  in  the  spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached  unto 
the  gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into 
glory.  1  Tim,  iii.  16, 

Eea.  I  understand  by  this  that  inasmuch  as  the 
Word  or  Son  of  God  who  was  with  God  in  the  begin- 
ning, and  represented  God  in  the  ancient  theophanies, 
was  made  ficsh  ;  so  God,  who  is  never  manifested  ex- 
cept by  the  Son,  was  by  him  manifested  in  the  flesh, 
that  is  in  his  incarnate  state,*  Did  Christ,  during  his 
humiliation,  give  any  special  exhibition  of  his  glory 
to  his  disciples  ? 

Eev.  And  he  said  unto  them,  Yerily  I  say  unto  you, 
that  there  be  some  of  them  that  stand  here,  which 
shall  not  taste  of  death,  till  they  have  seen  the  king- 
dom of  God  come  with  power.     And  after  six  days, 
Jesus  taketh  Peter,  James,  and  John  his  brother,  and 
bringeth  them  up  into  a  high  mountain  apart,  and  was 
transfigured  before  them ;  and  his  face  did  shine  as  the 
sun,  and  his  raiment  tvas  white  as  the  light.     And,  be 
hold,  a  bright  cloud  overshadowed  them ;  and,  behold 
a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  which  said.  This  is  my  be 
loved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear  ye  him 
Mark  ix.  1,  and  Mat.  xvii.  1-5,     For  we  have  not  fol 
lowed  cunningly  devised  fables,  when  we  made  known 

*  See  Note  E. 
14 


158  THE   DIVINE   MAN. 

unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  but  were  eye-witnesses  of  his  majesty.  For 
he  received  from  Grod  the  Father  honor  and  glory, 
when  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from  the  excel- 
lent glory,  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased.  And  this  voice  which  came  from  heaven, 
we  heard  when  we  were  with  him  in  the  holy  mount. 
2  Pet.  i.  16-18. 

Eea.  "  Tt  is  observed  that  the  condition  in  which 
Jesus  Christ  appeared  among  men — humble — poor — 
despised,  was  a  true  and  continual  transfiguration; 
whereas  the  transfiguration  itself,  in  which  he  showed 
himself  in  the  real  splendor  of  his  glory,  was  his  true 
and  natural  condition."  Cruden.  The  transfiguration 
appears  to  have  been  a  miniature  representation  of 
the  coming  kingdom  of  Christ,  when  he  will  appear  in 
his  glory  and  in  the  glory  of  his  Father.  His  condi- 
tion before  his  incarnation  was  glorious,  and  his  con- 
dition now  is  glorious,  and  his  condition  hereafter  will 
be  glorious ;  and  such  I  take  to  be  the  real  condition 
of  Christ.  His  condition  of  humiliation  and  suffering 
was  then  only  assumed  for  the  purposes  of  human 
redemption. 

Eev.  But  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels  for  the  sufferings  of  death,  crowned 
with  glory  and  honor  ;  that  he  by  the  grace  of  God 
should  taste  death  for  every  man.  Heb.  ii.  9.  But  we 
speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the 
hidden  wisdom  which  God  ordained  before  the  world 
unto  our  glory :  which  none  of  the  princes  of  this 
world  knew :  for  had  they  known  it,  they  would  not 
have  crucified  the  Lord  of  Glory.  1  Cor.  ii.  7,  8. 


THE    DIVINE   MAN.  159 

Re  A.  I  am  led  to  tlie  conclusion  that  tlie  Divine 
humanity  of  Christ  was  really  in  itself  most  glorious 
and  perfect,  and  had  he  not  vailed  it  in  a  humble  con- 
dition by  taking  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  his 
brightness  would  have  shone  forth  with  such  a  splen- 
dor as  would  have  overpowered  mortal  vision. 

'*  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  bears 

The  sins  of  all  the  world  away ! 
A  servant's  lowly  form  he  wears, 

He  sojourns  in  a  house  of  clay  ! 
His  GLORY  is  no  longer  seen, 
But  Grod  with  God  is  man  with  men." — Wesley. 

If  this  is  so,  and  I  see  nothing  to  the  contrary,  may 
not  the  body  of  Christ  have  been  in  the  days  of 
his  humiliation  constituently  spiritual  and  incorrup- 
tible? 

Rev.  And  so  it  is  written,  The  first  man  Adam  was 
made  a  living  soul;  and  the  last  Adam  was  made  a 
QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  Howbeit  that  was  not  first  which 
is  spiritual,  but  that  which  is  natural ;  and  afterward 
that  which  is  spiritual.  The  first  man  is  of  the  earth 
earthy ;  the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven. 
As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also  that  are  earthy; 
and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are  they  also  that  are 
heavenly.  And  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the 
earthy,  we  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly.  Now 
this  I  say,  that  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  neither  doth  corruption  inherit 
incorruption.  Behold  I  show  you  a  mystery :  We  shall 
not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  mo- 
ment, in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at   the  last  trump ; 


160  THE   DIVINE  MAN. 

for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be 
raised  incorruptible^  and  we  shall  be  changed.  For 
this  corruptible  must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this 
mortal  must  put  on  immortality.  1  Cor.  xv.  45-59. 

Eea.  I  perceive  the  argument  of  the  apostle  is,  that 
the  body  of  Christ  was  constituently  a  spiritual  and 
incorruptible  body,  inasmuch  as  he  was  the  Lord 
from  heaven;  and  that  believers  in  Christ  who  by 
nature  inherit  a  mortal  and  corruptible  body  from 
the  first  Adam,  shall  eventually  be  changed  into  the 
image  of  Christ;  that  this  change  shall  take  place  at 
the  last  day,  when  the  trump  of  God  shall  sound ;  and 
then  the  body  of  Christ  will  be  the  pattern  after  which 
the  bodies  of  all  the  saints  shall  be  constituted,  also 
spiritual  and  incorruptible.     Is  it  not  so? 

Eev.  For  our  polity^  is  in  heaven ;  from  whence 
also  we  look  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
who  shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fash- 
ioned like  unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to  the 
working  whereby  he  is  able  even  to  subdue  all  things 
to  himself.  Phil.  iii.  20,  21. 

Eea.  It  appears  then  that  it  was  the  Incarnate 
Word,  the  Son  of  God,  who  really  sujffered  on  the 
cross,  was  buried  and  rose  again  the  third  day. 
Hence  the  sacrifice  offered  for  our  sins  was  not  the 
death  of  a  mere  man  like  ourselves ;  nor  of  one  whose 
"  human  nature  was  a  real  creation  in  the  womb  of 
the  Virgin  ;"  but  it  was  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God  him- 
self, and  therefore  a  Divine  Sackifice  of  infinite 
merit   on  which  we   may  confidently  rely  as   trust- 

*  See  Note  F. 


THE  DIVINE   MAN.  161 

worthy  ground  of  pardon  and  acceptance  with  God. 
Is  it  not  so  ? 

Rev.  Forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  ye  are  not  re- 
deemed with  corruiotihle  things  as  silver  and  gold,  from 
your  vain  conversation  received  by  tradition,  from 
your  Father ;  but  with  the  'precious  hlood  of  Cheist, 
as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot.  Who 
verily  was  foreordained  before  the  foundation  of  the 
worlds  but  was  manifest  in  these  last  times  for  you, 
who  by  him  do  believe  in  God  that  raised  him  up 
from  the  dead,  and  gave  him  glory ;  that  your  faith 
and  hope  might  be  in  God.  1  Pet.  i.  18-21.  For  I  de- 
livered unto  you  first  of  all  that  which  I  also  received, 
how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the 
Scriptures ;  and  that  he  was  buried,  and  that  he  rose 
again  the  third  day  according  to  the  Scriptures ;  and 
that  he  was  seen  of  Cephas,  then  of  the  twelve ;  after 
that  he  was  seen  of  above  five  hundred  brethren  at 
once.  After  that  he  was  seen  of  James-;  then  of  all 
the  apostles.  1  Cor.  x v.  3-7.  To  whom  also  he  showed 
himself  alive  after  his  passion,  by  many  infallible 
proofs,  being  seen  of  them  forty  days,  and  speaking 
of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  Acts 
i.  3.  And  he  led  them  out  as  far  as  to  Bethany ;  and 
he  lifted  up  his  hands  and  blessed  them.  And  it  came 
to  pass  while  he  blessed  them,  he  was  parted  from 
them,  and  carried  up  into  heaven.  And  they  wor- 
shiped him  and  returned  to  Jerusalem  with  great  joy. 
Luke  xxiv.  50-52. 

Re  A.  The  present  condition  of  Jesus,  then,  is  what 
may  be  considered  as  the  natural  condition  of  his  Di- 
vine humanity — a  condition  which  belongs  to  him 
14* 


162  THE    DIVINE    MAN. 

as  the  Son  of  God,  aud  wliicli  he  had  before  his  incar- 
nation. 

Eev.  In  the  year  that  king  Uzziah  died,  I  saw  also 
the  Lord  sitting  upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up, 
and  his  train  filled  the  temple.  Above  it  stood  the 
seraphim ;  each  one  had  six  wings ;  with  twain  he 
covered  his  face,  and  with  twain  he  covered  his  feet, 
and  with  twain  he  did  fly.  And  one  cried  unto  an- 
other and  said,  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of  hosts ; 
the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory.  Also  I  heard  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  saying.  Whom  shall  I  send,  and  who 
will  go  for  us  ?  Then  said  I,  Here  am  I,  send  me. 
And  he  said,  Go,  and  tell  this  people.  Hear  ye  indeed, 
but  understand  not ;  and  see  ye  indeed,  but  perceive 
not.  Make  the  heart  of  this  people  fat,  and  make 
their  ears  heavy,  and  shut  their  eyes ;  lest  they  see 
with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  under- 
stand with  their  heart,  and  convert,  and  be  healed.  Isa. 
vi.  1-3,  8-10.  These  things  said  Esaias  when  he  saw 
his  glory  and  spaTce  of  him.  John  xii.  41. 

Re  A.  It  was  then  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  image 
(representative)  of  the  invisible  God,  who  was  seen  by 
Isaiah  as  you  have  described.  But  when  he  was  in- 
carnated he  laid  aside  or  vailed  that  glory,  and  be- 
came a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. 
Did  he  make  any  manifestation  of  his  resumption  of 
that  glory  after  his  ascension  into  heaven  ? 

Rev.  And  I  turned  to  see  the  voice  that  spake  with 
me.  And  being  turned,  I  saw  seven  golden  candle- 
sticks; and  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks, 
■one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man^  clothed  with  a  garment 
<lown  to  his  feet,  and  girt  about  the  paps  with  a  golden 


THE   MAN   DIVINE.  163 

girdle.  His  head  and  his  hairs  were  white  like  wool,  as 
white  as  snow :  and  his  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire : 
and  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  it  burned  in  a 
furnace :  and  his  voice  as  the  sound  of  many  waters. 
And  he  had  in  his  right  hand  seven  stars,  and  out  of 
his  mouth  went  a  sharp  two-edged  sword:  and  his 
countenance  was  as  the  sun  shining  in  his  strength. 
And  when  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead.  And 
he  laid  his  right  hand  upon  me,  saying  unto  me.  Fear 

not ;  I  AM  THE  FlKST  AND  THE  LAST  ;  I  AM  HE  THAT 
LIVETH,  AND   WAS   DEAD  ;  AND   BEHOLD   I   AM    ALIVE 

FOREVEK  MOEE,  Amen,  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and 
of  death.  Eev.  i.  12-18. 

Re  A.  Is  not  Jesus  Christ  the  Messenger  Jehovah, 
who  being  in  the  form  of  God  appeared  as  God  to  the 
patriarchs  and  prophets  of  old  ? 

Rev.  Jesus  answered.  If  1  honor  myself,  my  honor 
is  nothing :  It  is  my  Father  that  honoreth  me,  of  whom 
ye  say,  hat  the  is  your  God :  yet  ye  have  not  known 
him :  and  if  I  should  say,  I  know  him  not,  I  shall  be 
a  liar  like  unto  yon :  but  I  know  him,  and  keep  his 
saying.  Your  father  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my 
day  :  and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad.  Then  said  the  Jews 
unto  him.  Thou  art  not  yet  fifty  years  old,  and  hast 
thou  seen  Abraham  ?  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Yerily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Befoke  Abeaham  was  I  am. 
John  viii.  54-58. 

Rea.  What  is  the  testimony  of  God  concerning  the 
pre-existence  and  Divine  nature  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ? 

Rev.  And  thou  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though  thou 
be  little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee 


164  THE    DIVINE   MAN". 

shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be  Euler  in  Israel; 
whose  goings  forth  have  heenfrom  of  old^from  everlasting. 
Mic.  V.  2.  But  unto  the  Son  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  0 
God,  is  forever  and  ever ;  a  sceptre  of  righteousness 
is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom :  Thou  hast  loved  right- 
eousness and  hated  iniquity;  therefore,  God,  even 
THY  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness 
above  thy  fellows.  And,  thou  Lord  in  the  beginning 
hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  and  the  heavens 
are  the  work  of  thy  hands :  they  shall  perish,  but 
thou  remainest ;  and  they  shall  wax  old  as  doth  a  gar- 
ment ;  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  fold  them  up  ;  and 
they  shall  be  changed ;  but  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy 
years  shall  not  fail.  Ileb.  i.  8-12. 

Eea.  It  appears  then,  that  Jesus,  who  came  forth 
out  of  Bethlehem  by  being  made  of  a  woman,  was 
the  same  whose  goings  forth  were  of  old  from  ever- 
lasting as  the  Son  of  God.  That  by  him  God  created 
all  things  and  upholds  and  governs  all.  That  he  sus- 
tained the  character  of  the  Messenger  Jehovah,  and  to 
the  patriarchs  and  prophets  in  old  times  appeared  as 
God,  and  was  called  by  the  names  of  God,  Is  it 
not  so  ? 

Rev.  For  unto  us  a  Child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son  is 
given,  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoul- 
der ;  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Coun- 
selor, The  Mighty  God,  The  everlasting  Father,  The 
Prince  of  Peace.  Isa.  ix.  6.* 

Rea.  0  what  a  blessed  light  breaks  in  upon  my 
soul !   My  Saviour  is  revealed  to  me  in  his  Divine  hu- 

*  See  Note  G. 


THE  DIVINE  MAN.  165 

manitj,  and  with  Thomas  I  exclaim,  "  My  Lord,  and 
my  God !"  I  ask  no  more. 

I  know  thee  now  thou  holy  one, 
For  thee  I  face  to  face  have  seen — 

The  Word  Divine  msidejlesh,  I  own 
As  God  with  God,  as  man  with  men. 

I  now  perceive  the  nature  and  character  of  my 
blessed  Lord  and  Saviour.  The  Word  is  made  flesh 
— the  Son  of  God  is  made  of  a  woman,  is  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men  ;  but,  being  Adam's  Creator  and  Lord, 
he  was  not  involved  in  the  condemnation  of  Adam's 
sin,  consequently  it  was  impossible  for  his  body  to 
see  corruption,  and  it  would  not  have  undergone 
the  temporary  death  to  which  it  was  not  naturally 
liable,  had  it  not  been  voluntarily  for  the  purpose  of 
making  an  atonement  for  sin,  and  reconciling  us  to 
God.  It  is  therefore  impossible  that  the  Divine  hu- 
manity of  our  Lord  could  be  subject  to  corruption : 
for  though  it  was  possible  that  the  spirit  and  body 
might  be  separated  for  a  time,  it  was  not  liable  to 
dissolution,  inasmuch  as  it  was  not  a  natural  body  but 
a  spiritual  body.  And  as  the  Father  has  life  in  him- 
self, even  so  he  gave  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  him- 
self I  see  Jesus  thus  fully  qualified  by  the  dignity 
of  his  nature  as  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God,  the 
spotless  purity  of  his  character  and  his  voluntary  suf- 
ferings, for  the  great  work  of  man's  redemption.  My 
Great  High  Priest  and  sacrifice  is  the  Son  of  God;  and 
with  Watts  I  exclaim, 

*'  A  guilty,  weak  and  helpless  worm 
Into  thine  arms  I  fall  ; 
Be  thou  my  strength  and  righteousness, 
My  Jesus  and  my  all." 


166  THE   DIVINE    MAN. 

Blessed  Eevelation !  I  wonder  at  tlie  glorious 
things  thou  hast  made  known  unto  me.  The  law  of 
thy  mouth  is  better  unto  me  than  thousands  of  gold 
and  silver. 

Kev.  All  the  words  of  my  mouth  are  in  righteous- 
ness ;  there  is  nothing  froward  or  perverse  in  them. 
They  are  all  plain  to  him  that  understandeth,  and  right 
to  them  that  find  knowledge.  Eeceive  my  instructions 
and  not  silver,  and  knowledge  rather  than  choice  gold. 
Prov.  viii.  8-10.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  thy 
spirit.  2  Tim.  iv.  22. 

Rea.  Amen. 


NOTES. 


A. 

Heb.  ii.  16.  I  regard  this  sentence  as  elliptical. 
Parkhurst,  I  think,  gives  the  true  meaning  of  the 
verb  (rtaafi^(M>ci  in  this  place,  viz.,  to  assume — to  take 
upon  one.  See  his  Lexicon.  The  verb  is  compounded 
of  trtt  upon  and  xajujSavw  to  take.  Aa^ujSavw  is  used  in 
Phil.  ii.  7,  in  this  sense,  and  (ni,  in  construction  only 
strengthens  this  meaning  or  intensifies  it.  But  as  the 
verb  take  is  equivalent  to  the  meaning  given  by  Park- 
hurst, we  may,  marking   the   ellipses,   translate   the 

sentence   thus,  "For   truly  he  took   not  of 

angels,  but  he  took of  the  seed  of  Abraham." 

The  ellipsis  in  each  member  of  the  sentence  should  be 
filled  with  the  same  word  properly  to  express  the 
apostle's  meaning.  It  should  be  one  significant  of 
something  belonging  to  both  angels  and  Abraham's 
seed.  What  it  is  must  be  learned  from  the  apostle's 
argument,  in  accordance  with  the  analogy  of  faith, 
corroborated  by  other  parallel  passages  of  Scripture. 
King   James'  translators   supplied   the   first   ellipsis 

(167) 


168  NOTES. 

with  the  word  nature  and  left  the  second  unsupplied ; 
but  if  the  genitive  ayysxwv  required  that  some  word 
should  be  supplied  to  complete  the  sense  of  the  first 
member  of  this  sentence,  the  genitive  ariBpnatoi  required 
the  same  for  the  second,  which  is  as  evidently  ellipti- 
cal as  the  first.  The  word  nature^  however,  does  not 
accord  with  the  apostle's  argument,  which  relates  to 
the  Saviour's  condition  of  humiliation  and  suffering. 
The  word  nature  relates  to  the  essence  or  substance  of 
a  thing ;  but  the  apostle  is  not  speaking  of  the  being 
or  substance  of  Christ,  but  of  what  he  took  upon  him ; 
hence  the  term  nature  is  inappropriately,  if  not  ab- 
surdly, used  in  this  case.  It  does  not  agree  with  other 
Scriptures,  which  speak  of  Christ  as  being  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man, 
and  as  taking  on  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  etc.  Nor 
is  it  in  accordance  with  the  analogy  of  faith,  which 
represents  Christ  as  a  Divine  person,  a  quickening 
Spirit,  and  not  a  natural  man. 

In  the  revised  version  by  the  American  Bible  Union 
the  passage  is  thus  rendered,  "  For  surely  he  doth  not 
help  angels,  but  he  helpeth  the  vSeed  of  Abraham." 
This  rendering  appears  objectionable  on  the  following^ 
grounds :  ' 

1st.  Some  Scriptures  import  that  Christ  does  help 
angels.  Compare  Matt,  xxviii.  18  ;  Luke  xix.  88 ;  Eph. 
i.  10 ;  iii.  15 ;  Phil.  ii.  10 ;  Col.  i.  20.  ; 

2d.  That  his  help  is  not  restricted  to  Abraham's  seed 
only,  whether  the  natural  seed  or  the  seed  of  faith,  but 
extends  to  all  mankind  to  some  degree.  1  Tim.  ii.  1-7, 
and  iv.  10. 

8d.    There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  reference  to 


NOTES.  169 

fallen  angels  in  this  discourse  of  the  apostle's  In 
chap.  i.  4,  5,  6,  7,  13,  14,  and  ii.  2,  5,  7,  9,  the  refer- 
ence is  to  the  holy  angels,  and  without  doubt  they 
are  still  the  subjects  of  discourse  in  v.  16,  which 
therefore  requires  a  corresponding  signification.  The 
meaning  imposed  by  this  rendering  upon  the  apostle's 
language  is  altogether  foreign  to  his  argument,  which 
is  to  show  that  Jesus  Christ  was  made  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of  death ;  and  made 
like  his  brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and 
faithful  High  Priest  in  things  pertaining  to  God,  to 
make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people. 

The  word  condition  (or  form,  in  the  sense  of  condi- 
tion, as  used  in  Phil.  ii.  7,)  is  unobjectionable  and  no 
doubt  the  right  one.  It  makes  good  sense,  accords 
with  the  apostle's  argument,  is  scriptural,  and  agrees 
with  the  analogy  of  faith.  Phil,  ii,  6-8  is,  I  think,  a 
parallel  passage  with  Heb.  ii.  16-18,  and  from  it  I  would 
supply  the  ellipses  in  this  sentence  by  the  word  /iop^j^, 
form  or  condition,  and  render  it  thfis,  ''  For  truly  he 
took  not  the  condition  of  angels,  but  he  took  the  con- 
dition of  Abraham's  seed."  It  was  thus  that  he  quali- 
fied himself  for  the  work  of  human  redemption  by 
taking  a  condition  lower  than  that  of  the  angels,  even 
the  condition  of  fallen  humanity. 

B. 

Phil.  ii.  6-8.  Dr.  Doddridge  translates  this  passage 
thus:  "Let  the  same  mind  be  in  you  which  was  also 
in  Christ  Jesus,  who,  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  as  God,  nevertheless, 
emptied  himself,  taking  upon  him  the  form  of  a 
15 


170  NOTES. 

servant,  when  made  in  tlie  likeness  of  men :  and  be- 
ing found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  lie  humbled  himself, 
becoming  obedient  even  unto  death,  death  of  the 
cross."  On  the  clause  taa  0fto,  which  he  paraphrases 
"  to  he  and  appear  as  God,''^  he  says,  "So  t5a0fco  is  most 
exactly  rendered,  agreeable  to  the  force  of  toa  in  many 
places  in  the  Sejoiuagint,  which  Dr.  Whitby  has  col- 
lected in  his  72ote  on  this  place.  The  proper  Greek 
phrase  Sot  equal  to  God  is  lcov  tu  ©sw,  which  is  used  John 
V.  18. 

Macknighi:  renders  it  thus,  "  Who  being  in  the  form 
of  God,  did  not  think  it  robbery  to  he  like  God,''^  and 
says,  "so  to  ftmt  caaQa^  literally  signifies."  For  Whitby 
hath  proved  in  the  clearest  manner,  that  Kta  is  used 
adverbially  by  the  LXX  to  express  likeness,  but  not 
equality,  the  proper  term  for  which  is  lgov.  So  that  if 
the  apostle  had  meant  to  say  equal  with  God,  the 
phrase  would  have  bsen  l6ov  ©ew  as  we  have  in  John 
V.  18. 

The  phrase  form  of  God  is  evidently  used  to  des- 
ignate the  pre- existent  state  of  Christ,  and  the  form 
of  a  servant  is  employed  to  express  his  incarnated  state. 
These  two  conditions  are  put  in  antithesis,  and  both 
are  predicated  of  the  same  person ;  but  he  could  not 
sustain  both  at  the  same  time.  The  form  of  God  was 
laid  aside  when  he  took  the  form  of  a  servant.  Form 
cannot  signify  nature ;  for  he  could  not  divest  himself 
of  his  nature.  The  form  of  God  refers  to  the  glory 
lie  possessed  as  the  representative  of  the  invisible 
God.  Being  the  brightness  of  his  glory,  and  the  ex- 
press image  of  his  person,  he  thought  it  no  robbery 
to  be  as  God,  and  hence  to  the  angels  appeared  as  God, 


NOTES.  171 

and  also  to  the  patriarclis  and  propTiets  of  olden  times. 
In  tills  lie  did  not  rob  God  of  tlie  honor  due  him,  for 
being  the  representative  of  God,  it  was  his  right,  by 
the  ordination  of  God  himself,  to  receive  adoration 
from  those  intelligences  whom  God  had  made  by  him. 
Indeed  Christ  himself  says,  ''  The  Father  judgeth  no 
man,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment  to  the  Son, 
that  all  men  should  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they  honor 
the  Father.  He  that  honoreth  not  the  Son,  honoreth 
not  the  Father  who  hath  sent  him."  John  v.  22,  23. 
The  claim  of  Christ  to  divine  honors  is  not  founded 
upon  his  being  God  but  upon  his  heing  in  the  form  of 
God.  Being  in  the  form  of  God  he  thought  it  no  rob- 
bery to  he  as  God.  To  be  as  God  indicated  his  appear- 
ing in  Godlike  majesty  and  receiving  divine  honors. 
And  this  he  did  before  he  was  incarnated.  And  yet 
though  that  was  his  real  and  proper  condition  as  the 
Son  of  God ;  he  did  not  hesitate,  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  human  redemption,  to  divest  himself  of  that 
glory,  and  to  make  himself  of  no  reputation,  taking 
the  form  of  a  servant,  and  humbling  himself  even  to 
suffer  a  most  painful  and  ignominious  death.  Such 
was  the  greatness  and  extent  of  his  love  for  us. 

C. 

2  Cor.  V.  21.  Dr.  Barnes  says,  "  The  Greek  here  is, 
'  for  him  who  knew  no  sin,  he  hath  made  sin  or  a  sin- 
offering  for  us.'  That  it  means  that  God  made  him 
(Christ)  a  sin-offering,  is  adopted  by  Whitby,  Dod- 
ridge,  Macknight,  Eosenmiiller  and  others.  There  are 
many  passages  in  the  Old  Testament  where  the  word 
sin'  (a^aprta)  is  uscd  in  the  sense  of  sin-offering,  or 


172  NOTES. 

a  sacrifice  for  sin.  Thus  Hos.  iv.  8 : '  They  eat  up  the 
sin  of  my  people ;'  i.  e.  the  sin-offerings.  See  Ezek.  xliii. 
22,  25 ;  xliv.  29  ;  xlv.  22,  23,  25." 

Dr.  A.  Clarke  says,  "It  signifies  a  sin-offering  or  sacri- 
fice for  sin  and  answers  to  the  chataak  and  chataath  of 
the  Hebrew  text,  which  signifies  both  sin  and  sin-offer- 
ing m  a  great  variety  of  places  in  the  Pentateuch.  The 
Septuagint  translate  the  Hebrew  word  by  a^ap^ia  in 
ninety-four  places  in  Exodus,  Leviticus  and  Numbers^ 
where  a  sin-offering  is  meant ;  and  where  our  version 
translates  the  word  not  sin,  but  an  offering  for  sin^ 

D. 

The  Wokd  kepresented  God.  That  this  is  the 
meaning  of  the  clause  ''and  the  Word  was  God"  in 
John  i.  1,  I  think  is  unquestionable.  In  the  preceding 
clause,  "  and  the  Word  was  with  God,"  a  distinction  is 
made  between  the  Word  and  God,  corresponding 
to  that  which  is  made  by  the  Saviour  himself  in 
his  prayer,  John  xvii.  5,  "And  now,  O  Father,  glo- 
rify thou  me  with  thine  ownself  with  the  glory  which 
I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was."  Christ,  the 
Word,  was  with  God,  and  could  not  be  that  God  with 
whom  he  was.  To  assert  this  would  be  contradictory 
and  absurd.  We  may  then  inquire  whether  the  lan- 
guage may  not  bear  another  and  consistent  meaning. 
D.  A.  Clarke  says,  "  There  is  scarcely  a  more  common 
form  of  speech  in  any  language  than  This  is,  for  tins  re- 
presents or  signifies.^''  And  he  says  ''  TJiis  bread  IS  my 
body^  has  no  other  meaning  than.  This  bread  REPRE- 
SENTS my  bodyT  In  like  manner  he  shows  that,  This 
cujp  IS  my  blood,  means  This  cup  REPRESENTS  my  blood; 


NOTES.  173 

and  That  Bock  WAS  Christy  signifies  That  Roch  re- 
presented Christ.  Doddridge  paraphrases  to  the  same 
purport,  and  Dr.  Barnes  says,  "  This  is  my  body.  This 
represents  my  body.  This  could  not  be  intended  to 
mean  that  that  bread  was  literally  his  body.  It  was 
not."  Again,  ^' For  this  is  my  blood.  This  represents  my 
blood,  as  the  bread  did  his  body."  Now  as  in  these 
cases  we  avoid  the  absurdity  of  supposing  the  bread 
to  be  the  body  of  Christ,  and  the  cup  the  blood  of 
Christ,  and  the  rock  in  the  wilderness  to  be  really 
Christ  himself,  by  giving  to  the  verb  a  meaning  which 
is  very  common  and  in  accordance  with  the  genius  of 
all  languages;  so  in  the  explanation  of  John  i.  1,  we 
avoid  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that  the  Word  is 
the  God  that  he  was  with,  by  giving  to  the  verb  this 
very  same  meaning.  "In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
represented  God."  And  this  agrees  with  v.  18.  ''No 
man  hath  seen  God  at  anytime;  the  only -begotten 
Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath  de- 
clared him." 

E. 

1  Tim.  iii.  16.  It  can  scarcely  be  doubted,  I  think, 
that  the  Son  of  God  is  the  person  here  spoken  of  as 
having  been  manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the 
spirit,  etc.  The  term  God  is,  according  to  both  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  applied  to  the  Son.  Thus 
in  Isa.  ix.  6.  "  Unto  us  a  Child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son 
is  given,  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoul- 
der ;  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Coun- 
selor, Mighty  God,"  etc.  And  in  Heb.  i.  8;  "But 
15* 


174  NOTES. 

unto  the  Son  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever 
and  ever,"  etc.  The  term  God  appears  to  have  been  an 
official  designation,  and  employed  to  denote  a  divinely 
appointed  messenger  or  ruler.  Thus  of  Moses  God 
said,  "  See,  I  have  made  thee  a  God  to  Pharaoh."  The 
congregation  of  Israel  are  called  Gods  in  Psalm 
Ixxxii.,  because  to  them  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
in  the  promise  that  they  should  be  to  him  a  kingdom 
of  priests  on  condition  of  their  keeping  his  covenant. 
"  God  standeth  in  the  congregation  of  the  mighty :  he 
judgeth  among  the  Gods,"  v.  1.  But  in  consequence 
of  their  breaking  his  covenant,  he  says  in  vv.  6,  7. 
"  I  have  said,  Ye  are  Gods ;  and  all  of  you  are  children 
of  the  Most  High ;  but  ye  shall  die  like  men,  and  fall 
like  one  of  the  princes."  Now  if  Moses  be  called  God, 
and  if  he  called  them  Gods  to  whom  the  word  of  God 
came,  why  may  not  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  only 
proper  representative  of  God,  and  the  heir  of  all  things, 
be  called  God ;  as  he  is  in  the  eighth  verse  of  the  same 
Psalm,  "  Arise,  0  God,  judge  the  earth  ;  for  thou  shalt 
inherit  all  nations."  Hence  then  to  say,  God  was  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  amounts  to  no  more  than  that  Christ 
the  Son  of  God  was  incarnated.  But  as  he  is  the  re- 
presentative of  God,  I  have  supposed  the  term  God  to 
be  taken  in  its  highest  sense  to  denote  the  self-exist- 
ent and  invisible  One — the  Great  Supreme,  and  have 
given  the  passage  a  meaning  it  will  very  well  bear  in 
accordance  with  the  analogy  of  faith,  viz.,  that  the 
Supreme  God  was  manifested  in  the  incarnated  Word. 

F. 

Phil.  iii.  20.  "  For  our  polity  is  in  heaven,"  etc.  The 
word  TtoT.H'cviia,  which  the   King  James's   translators 


NOTES.  175 

have  rendered  by  conversation,  properly  signifies  the 
adminislratmi,  government^  or  polity  of  a  kingdom  or 
state.  It  is  used  here  to  designate  the  polity  of  the 
glorious  and  everlasting  kingdom  of  Christ  which  is 
now  in  heaven,  reserved  until  the  coming  of  Christ 
from  heaven,  when  it  will  be  revealed,  and  when  all 
the  saints  of  God  shall  be  qualified  by  the  resurrec- 
tion and  translation  to  enter  into  and  possess  it. 

G. 

Isa.  ix.  6.  This  prophecy  belongs  to  Jesus  Christ 
and  to  no  other.  He  is  the  Child  born  and  the  Son 
given  of  whom  the  prophet  speaks.  All  power  in 
heaven  and  earth  is  given  into  his  hands,  and  the 
government  of  the  world  is  on  his  shoulder ;  for  he 
shall  have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea  and  from  the  rivers 
unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  names  by  which  he 
is  called  are  expressive  of  some  relations  and  condi- 
tions which  he  sustains  in  the  great  Mediatorial  work 
which  is  committed  to  his  hands. 

How  appropriate  the  term  Woxdekful  to  him  who 
is  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God,  who  existed  with  the 
Father  before  the  world  was,  who  is  the  brightness  of 
his  glory  and  express  image  of  his  person ;  and  who 
was  incarnated,  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  the 
Child  of  a  virgin  mother.  Truly,  great  is  the  mystery 
of  Godliness,  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  God  was 
manifested  before  the  incarnation  by  Jesus  Christ  who, 
being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  no  robbery 
to  appear  as  God ;  but  after  the  incarnation  he  was 
manifest  in  the  flesh — in  Jesus  the  incarnate  Word. 
There   is   no  relation   in  which  we  can  contemplate 


1  /  6  NOTES. 

Christ,  in  wliicli  he  does  not  sustain  the  character  of 
the  Wonderful. 

Equally  appropriate  is  the  term  Counselor,  for 
in  him  are  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge ; 
and  he,  of  God,  is  made  unto  us  Wisdom.  By  him 
the  law  was  given  on  Sinai,  and  by  him  expounded 
in  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  By  him  the  great  pur- 
pose of  God  in  redemption  is  revealed ;  and  he  now 
lives  in  the  presence  of  the  Father  to  intercede  for  us. 
He  is  our  Advocate  with  the  Father,  and  therefore  the 
Counselor. 

He  is  called  the  Mighty  God  {El-gihhor)  the  pre- 
vailing or  conquering  God.  God  is  an  official  desig- 
nation, and  is  applied  to  angels,  to  magistrates,  and 
rulers  ;  but  it  is  given  to  Jesus  Christ  pre-eminently 
above  them  all,  as  in  Heb.  i.  8,  9.  "But  unto  the  Son 
he  saith.  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and  ever ;  a 
sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  king- 
dom ;  thou  hast  loved  righteousness  and  hated  ini- 
quity ;  therefore  God,  even  thy  God,  hath  anointed 
thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows."  He 
is  the  conquering  God,  because  all  things  shall  be 
subdued  to  him,  and  by  him  reconciled  to  the  Fa- 
ther. And  to  him  every  knee  shall  bow,  and  every 
tongue  shall  confess  that  he  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father. 

He  is  called,  The  Everlasting  Father  {aU  ad)  or 
Father  of  the  everlasting  age,  not  as  some  sup- 
pose because  he  is  the  Father,  for  that  is  absurd.  He 
cannot  be  the  Son  and  the  Father  both.  But  he  is  so 
called  because,  as  the  Mediator,  he  will  reconcile  all 
things  to  God,  and  so  bring  in  the  everlasting  age  or 


NOTES.  177 

world  \TitTioiTt  end,  when  his  saints  shall  all  be  kings 
and  priests  with  him^  and  the  rest  of  mankind  shall 
be  subject  to  their  government.  That  everlasting  age 
will  be  the  consummation  of  his  mediation,  the  result 
of  the  work  which  is  committed  to  his  hands,  and 
hence  he  is  called  the  Father  of  the  everlasting 

AGE. 

He  is  called  the  Prince  of  Peace,  because  the 
atonement  which  he  hath  made  for  our  sins  makes 
peace;  and  he  is  our  Peace.  And  his  government 
over  the  world  will  insure  peace  forever. 

There  is  nothing  absurd  or  contradictory  in  these 
appellations.  They  all  belong  to  Christ  in  his  Medi- 
atorial character  and  relations. 


INDEX 


TO   DIALOGUE   BETWEEN   REASON   AND    REVELATION    ON 
THE  INCORRUPTIBILITY  OF  THE   SAVIOUR'S   BODY. 

PAGE 

Salutations, 141 

Incorruptibilitj  of  Christ's  bodj, 141 

Christ  saw  no  corruption, 142 

Could  not  be  holden  of  death, 142 

Was  not  judicially  liable  to  death, 143 

Suffered  voluntarily, ,.... 143 

Had  power  to  resume  the  life  he  laid  down, 143 

Was  the  Son  of  God, 144 

Was  holy, 145 

Was  incarnated, 145 

Assumed  man's  condition  for  the  mediatorial  work, 146 

Was  the  Incarnated  Word, 149 

The  same  that  was  in  the  beginning  with  God, 150 

And  not  a  "real  creation,"  as  Dr.  A.  Clarke  says, 152 

Came  down  from  Heaven, 153 

Doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  an  essential  one, 154 

Its  denier,  an  antichrist, 155 

Christ  represents  God, 156 

The  Transfiguration, 157 

Christ  a  quickening  spirit, 159 

His  death  a  Divine  Sacrifice, 160 

His  condition  now  what  it  was  before  the  Incarnation, 162 

His  Divine  nature,  etc., 164 

179 


180  INDEX. 

NOTES. 

PAGIB 

A.  On  Heb.  ii.  16, 167 

B.  On  Phil.  ii.  6-8, 169 

C.  On  2  Cor.  v.  21, 171 

D.  On  Jolini.  1, 172 

E.  On  1  Tim.  iii.  16, 173 

F.  On  Phil.  iii.  20, 174 

G.  Onlsa.  ix.  6, 175 


THB  BZTD* 


JUST  PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR, 

DISCOURSES 


WHICH  IS  AS  A 


figljt  %t  Sj)iitet|  m  a  §arli  flaw, 

SHOWING  THAT  THE  DOMINION  OF  THE 


WILL   BE   GIVEN  TO  THE   SAINTS  OF  GOD,  AND   THAT 
ALL   THE   BEST   OF   MANKIND  WILL    BE   SUB- 
JECT  TO   THEIR   GOVERNMENT. 

AN    INTBRBSTIlSrG    BOOK 
SECOND    EDITION, 

CONTAINING     THE 

VINDICATION  OF  HIS  THEORY  OF  REDEMPTION, 

406  pages,  with  Portrait,  bound  in  cloth,  $1.00,  and  will  be 
sent,  postage  paid,  to  order,  on  the  receipt  of  the  price  in  good 
money  or  postage  stamps. 

Address,    JOHN   G.  TTII^SOIV, 

242  Hanover  Street,  Kensington,  Philadelphia,  Pa 

For  Notices  of  the  Book  read  the  following  pages. 


DISCOURSES  ON  PROPHECY. 

The  following  notices  of  this  book  have  been  received  from 
different  sources. 

"  The  author  is  evidently  a  close  Bible  student,  and  has  made 
himself  very  familiar  with  the  prophecies." — Christian  Sun. 

"  The  author  treats  the  subject  in  a  new  light.  The  work 
abounds  in  beautiful  paragraphs." — Oxford  Evening  Mail. 

"  It  is  an  interesting  work,  characterized  by  an  honest  search 
after  truth,  and  a  devout  spirit." — Presbyterian. 

"  The  book  is  very  readable,  and  none  can  peruse  it  without 
profit.  We  regard  the  volume  as  eminently  calculated  to  do 
good.  We  recommend  it  to  all  classes  as  fitted  to  be  perma- 
nently useful." — Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty. 

"  The  book  is  not  only  a  book  to  be  read,  but  to  be  thought 
upon." — J.  N.  Spook. 

"If  any  man  takes  it  up,  and  gives  his  attention  and  thought 
to  it,  he  will  find  what  will  amply  repay  him.  He  will  find 
thought,  (something  scarce  now-a-days,)  deep,  original  thought. 
He  will  find  logic,  and  most  undeniable  logic*  He  will  find 
more  and  better  than  all  that,  too.  He  will  find  so  much  of  the 
pure  and  true  spirit  of  Christianity,  that  if  he  does  not  shut  the 
book  a  better  man,  the  fault  is  heavily  his  own." —     *     *    * 

"You  always  set  me  to  thinking." — W.  T.  Eva. 

"The  spirit  and  tendency  of  the  volume  are  favorable  to  ex- 
perimental and  practical  piety.     The  author  is  constantly  look- 


3 

ing  for  Christ  and  his  kingdom,  and  labors  to  prepare  his  readers 
to  participate  in  the  hastening  glory." — T.  H.  Stockton. 

"  Mr.  Wilson  treats,  in  this  series  of  discourses,  of  the  work 
of  Redemption,  from  its  institution  in  Paradise,  on  the  fall  of 
our  first  parents,  through  all  its  steps,  till  Christ's  triumph  shall 
be  completed  over  his  foes.  He  holds  to  the  restoration  of  the 
Israelites ;  the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Millennium  ;  Christ's  personal  reign  here  :  and  the 
perpetuity  of  the  earth,  as  the  abode  of  the  redeemed  and  the 
seat  of  his  kingdom  ;  and  most  of  the  numerous  themes  which 
he  discusses  are  treated  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  He  is  familiar 
with  the  sacred  word ;  he  presents  his  thoughts  clearly,  and 
urges  them  with  earnestness  and  force." — Theological  mid  Lite- 
rary Journal. 

"  The  design  of  this  book  is  to  show  that  the  dominion  of  the 
world  will  be  given  to  the  saints  of  God,  and  that  all  the  rest 
of  mankind  will  be  subject  to  their  government.  The  author, 
who  is  pastor  of  a  church  in  Philadelphia,  is,  in  his  manner  of 
interpreting  Scripture,  what  is  called  a  Literalist ;  and  believes 
that  Christ  will  come  personally  before  the  Millennium,  and  with 
his  saints  will  reign  over  the  nations  during  that  period.  He 
also  believes  that  the  Jews,  or  natural  seed  of  Abraham  accord- 
ing to  the  promise,  will  be  restored  to  their  own  land  at  the 
coming  of  Christ,  and  that  the  Millennium  will  be  a  mediatorial 
dispensation,  exceeding  all  others  in  excellency  and  glory." — 
Church  Advocate. 

"  Your  book  is  written  calmly  and  well.  It  displays  much 
patient  study  of  that  side  of  the  question." — A.  Webster,  D.D. 

"  The  book  on  prophecy  has  interested  me  more  than  any 
similar  work." — H.  F.  Moffatt. 

'I  think,  without  endorsing  every  sentiment,  I  can  recom- 
mend  the  work.  There  is  in  it,  obviously,  originality  of  thought, 
much  research,  and  the  honest  expression  of  the  convictions 
of  your  own  mind.  Then  the  style  in  which  you  have  written 
is  decidedly  good,  and  frequently  eloquent,  and  your  reasoning 
forcible,  if  not  conclusive." — J.  W.  Rutledge. 


*'  Now  for  your  book.  I  give  you  credit  for  great  labor  to 
find  out  tbe  truth — for  manly  independence  in  malting  a  frank 
and  open  disclosure  of  what  you  are  persuaded  is  the  truth,  and 
for  doing  all  this  in  an  amiable,  Christian  spirit.  The  moral 
efiect  of  your  book  upon  the  reader  can't  be  otherwise  than 
good — in  it  he  will  not  have  to  sift  out  sand  all  day  to  get  a 
few  grains  of  pure  gold.  Contrariwise,  he  will  find  a  great  deal 
of  gold,  and  but  little  sand.  But  still,  I  think,  among  the  gold 
there  is  some  sand ;  indeed,  where  is  the  work  so  full  of  gold  as 
to  have  no  sand ! — God's  book  alone  is  infallible. 

"  I  hope  you  will  publish  a  second  edition  of  your  Discourses. 
The  great  events  of  which  you  have  written  are  just  at  hand. 
The  church  of  Christ  should  be  roused  up  to  investigate  these 
subjects,  and  if  any  man  believes  you  to  be  wrong,  let  him  in 
the  meekness  of  wisdom  show  that  wrong  and  set  you  right." — 
George  Brown,  late  Pre&ident  of  Madison  College. 

*'  The  style  is  neat,  and  the  sentiments  clearly  and  forcibly 
expressed." — Evangelical  Repository. 

*'  The  study  of  prophecy  is  one  of  deep  interest  to  every  man 
who  would  know  what  is  the  -mind  of  the  Spirit — one,  it  may 
be,  that  receives  too  little  attention.  Mr.  Wilson  has  turned 
his  attention  largely  to  the  study  of  prophecy,  and  has  given 
to  the  world  a  book  of  much  interest.  He  treats  the  prophecies 
in  accordance  with  the  analogy  of  faith,  and  shows  in  the  pro- 
phetical records  the  unfoldings  of  the  eternal  purpose  of  God 
in  the  salvation  of  mankind  by  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  interpre- 
tation of  scripture,  Mr.  Wilson  may  be  termed  a  literalist,  be- 
lieving in  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  their  own  land,  the 
resurrection  of  the  saints  at  the  commencement  of  the  Millen- 
nium, and  the  personal  reign  of  Christ  upon  earth.  With  some 
of  his  positions  we  would  not  agree  ;  but  can,  withal,  cheerfully 
recommend  the  book  to  our  readers.  They  will  find  in  it  that 
which  many  of  the  publications  of  the  present  day  have  no 
claim  to,  close,  vigorous,  earnest  thought,  and  much  too  of  the 
spirit  of  Christianity." — Banner  of  the  Covenant. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


1    1012  01250  2110 


